Chapter Thirty-Two

"I'm surprised you're back so soon." Zuko said without looking up and tapping a stack of papers on the desk to align them.

"Hello Zuko." Said a sultry voice.

The stack of papers fell from his hands and scattered over the desk and floor as he turned towards the person who had spoken. "Mai."

"Surprised to see me?" She asked with a smirk.

"Yes." He answered honestly and it sounded a little blunt. He gave his head a subtle shake as he tried to process this sudden change of events. He cleared his throat and stood quickly, his chair scraping loudly across the floor. "I'm so glad to see you." He said coming around the desk and going to his girlfriend to embrace her. Mai snuggled close and let out a rare contented sigh and closed her eyes. Zuko meanwhile could feel his heart racing, his face reddening and his mind struggling to comprehend what was going on, what he had been doing and what was he going to do now?

He tried to put his internal turmoil on the back burner and focus on the present. She pulled away from him and her usual scowling face was still soft as she looked at him. "I couldn't get here any sooner. I had found Azula's old hide out and was trying to track her from there when word finally got to me about the Agni Kai and by then, it was only a few days away." She scowled. "From there it took me until now to get back here."

"Your family doesn't need your help anymore?"

"No. My Uncle wanted my help since she escaped from his prison. Now that she's a prisoner here," Zuko flinched at the callous way she phrased it, "I'm free to do as I please again."

"Well I'm glad you're here. It's been a very long time since I've seen you."

"Too long." She agreed. "So, you'd better make it up to me." That teasing smirk was back, and she leaned in, ready for a kiss. Zuko gave her a quick peck, knowing he may have been a bit abrupt, he made up a quick excuse, still feeling flustered.

"I have a lot of work to do, but you're welcome to hang around if you want."

"Paperwork is so dull. I suppose I can keep you company for a while though." She perched on the arm of his chair and watched as he continued to try to focus on work and not over think his current situation. He should probably warn Katara about Mai's return before she found out on her own like he had. His eyes darted to the clock, but it was still quite some time before Katara was expected back.

Staying focused at the hospital had been hard. Her mind would drift off while attending patients; fortunately, it was hard to mess up water bender healing techniques while her attention was elsewhere. Her eyes frequently found the clocks and found that they were hardly moving today. Wu Lee noticed her preoccupation.

"Katara… Katara…" once she had the young woman's attention the elderly woman smiled fondly at her. "You seem distracted today."

Katara flushed in embarrassment at having been caught. "Maybe a little. I'm sorry Wu Lee, I-" she was cut off by a raised hand.

"Why don't you leave early today?" Katara began to protest, but Wu Lee once again cut her off. "You work so hard, you deserve to leave early. Now go and take care of whatever seems to be on your mind." She said with a kindly smile.

"Thank you, I'll see you tomorrow." She said and quickly strode of with a backwards wave.

The carriage ride seemed to take forever and the giddiness she had at seeing Zuko again nearly overwhelming. She nearly leapt from the carriage as soon as it stopped moving and tried to settle for a fast walk up the steps as opposed to a jog. She was early and planned on surprising Zuko and she came upon the office doors she flung them open exuberantly. "Guess who got off early?" She called in a chipper manner before her gaze landed on Zuko who looked bewildered and then swept to the woman perched on the arm of his chair. Her stomach instantly clenched and her chest felt tight. "Mai." She faltered for a moment before giving herself a mental slap. "It's so good to see you! Of course, you're here and would be here with Zuko. You are his girlfriend after all!" She was rambling and sounded like an idiot, but she just couldn't get herself to stop. "Well, I just thought I'd check and see how you were doing on that paperwork, but it looks like you're doing great! I'm just going to run up to my room. I have some things I need to do." She couldn't make her escape fast enough as she fled from the office that held a still bewildered Zuko and Mai who had a raised eyebrow through the entire interaction.

"That was strange…" She murmured, before turning her attention back to Zuko.

Katara fled to the safety of her room, slamming the door behind her and thumping against the door to breath heavily for a moment. That's when it all began to sink in. Mai was back. Zuko had a girlfriend and now she was here. She groaned as her mind suddenly brought up the kisses they had been sharing and her knees felt too wobbly to support her as her back slid down against the door until she was slumped on the floor. In all her days, she never imagined she would be the "other woman". Shame and guilt swamped her suddenly. How inappropriate it had been to share his bed, even in the most platonic of senses, which is how it had all started out. She had even forsaken Aang and his feelings for her own personal comfort.

You and Zuko shared a very traumatic experience and it brought you closer. At the time, he was the only one that truly understood you and what you had gone through. The voice in her head tried to soothe her. No, she bit back bitterly. I behaved inexcusably with Zuko when I had a boyfriend and he had a girlfriend. I pushed away Aang and broke his heart. I won't ruin another relationship. Again. Angrily she swiped at the tears rolling down her cheeks, suddenly determined. She pushed to her feet and whipped the door open, calling to one of the sentries on duty that she needed a maid immediately before closing the door again. She began the mad scramble of trying to gather all her belongings.

There was a knock at the door and Katara hollered a hasty "Come in!" without stopping her furious packing. The maid approached timidly and bobbed a curtsey.

"How can I help you Lady Katara?"

"I need a new room right now." Katara said breathlessly.

"Is there something wrong with your current rooms?" The maid asked, looking taken aback.

"No, they're just fine. Fire Lord Zuko's girlfriend has returned and I think she would appreciate having these rooms." Katara managed to say this rather calmly and the maid looked relieved that it was a problem that couldn't be attributed to the staff.

"Right away my Lady. Would you care for the chambers the young Master Avatar used during his stay here?"

Those rooms were directly across the hall and she almost insisted on being moved further away, but that would appear odd to the staff and might start rumors, which was the last thing she wanted. "That will do perfectly." Katara said, finally looking up to flash the maid a grateful smile.

"I'll prepare them right away for you miss and I'll be sure your things are moved."

"I can help." Katara insisted, gesturing at the pile she had been accumulating on the bed.

"It's not necessary my Lady. Perhaps you would like a nice hot bath in your new quarters? I'd be happy to draw one for you."

Katara hesitated, but maybe a hot bath would help calm her down. She was still rather frazzled. Katara nodded her head and the maid excused herself to begin preparations.

Zuko had made some progress on his paperwork, though not nearly as much as usual. It was hard to focus with Mai peering over his shoulder, not giving him a chance to stop and think about everything. He finally managed to extract himself with the excuse of getting changed for dinner. He ran up the stairs and knocked on Katara's door, but no one answered. He knocked again, calling tentatively through the door, "Katara? Can I come in?" he cracked the door open enough to pop his head in for a quick look. When he didn't immediately see her, he swung the door wide open and walked in looking around. It looked empty and the bathroom door was open, perhaps on the balcony? The balcony was empty as well and he back into the room and looked around again. It seemed... barren. He walked over to her dressing table, which usually had bottles of this or that on them but was now empty. He opened the closet on a whim and found nothing in it. Where was she?

"Katara?" He called, walking out in the hall, panic rising. "Katara!"

A door across the hall opened suddenly and Katara stood there, hair braided the way it used to be, not flowing freely how she had been wearing it lately and had a bland look on her face.

"What are you doing over here?" He asked dumbly, the first thing coming to mind leaving his mouth as he found her there, staring at him pointedly.

"I figured my old room would be better suited for your girlfriend."

Zuko swallowed. "About that... can we talk?"

"We are talking."

Zuko started to protest, but stopped himself, fists clenching. "I had no idea she would be here!" he hissed, trying to keep his voice down.

"But she is Zuko and she should be." Zuko opened his mouth, getting ready to interrupt, but she didn't give him the chance. "She's your girlfriend Zuko. And those kisses- "she steeled herself, missing Zuko's eyes widening and his sharp inhale of breath. "Those kisses were a mistake. And- and it shouldn't happen again."

Zuko was too stunned to speak. She was right, of course, but some part of him screamed that this was all wrong.

"I should go. I'm not hungry, so I won't be down for dinner tonight." With that, Katara closed the door softly and Zuko was left standing in the hallway.

Sarahplainntall here! I know, I suck at updating, I'm sorry! Please enjoy this chapter and pretty please review! Happy Halloween!