I do not own Avatar, nor do I intend to make money from this story.

ALAS, WHO'S INJURED BY MY LOVE?

Sokka's reputation preceded him. Intelligent, quick and with a perfect score at solving unsolvable crimes. When he started working at the Bureau, he was no more than a skinny kid, angry and recently out of the reformatory. Twelve year later, Sokka was the head of one of the most successful teams at the Bureau of Intelligence. And even then, he couldn't work on his sister's case.

"I want to see somebody try to keep me away from this case!" And he was furious when the boss, Mr. Piandao, gave the case to another Detective. Worse: prohibited Sokka to work at all, until he proved to be back to himself. He agreed and asked one last question.

"Who is responsible for the investigation?"

"Toph Beifong." And just like that, his day got better.

Toph was a tough detective and difficult person. She was one of the best, if not the best on what she did, which was kick butts and get the bad guys. What kept her from beating Sokka, however, was her impulsiveness. Over the years, Beifong seammed to learn how to control her impossible temper, but she still slipped and he was counting on it.

Running two flights of stairs, he made it to her office, a privileged spot, for sure. The room had glass walls and a large window that surveilled the skyscrapers of Tokyo. Marks on the ground showed all that was left from the fancy carpet that used to cover the floors. When she first got to the job, she ripped the thing herself. "Couldn't listen to you people walking around in my office with that stupid fluffy thing", was her answer, when asked. Sokka happened to love the fluffy thing and took it to his office next door.

"Beifong!" He walked in, already sitting down in front of her. "Heard you got Kat's case. I want in."

She measured him with those milky eyes and a blank expression. They've always been good friends, picking on each other and helping in difficult cases. He assumed she would understand he needed to be involved, helping as much as he could. Now, under her hard gaze he wasn't so sure.

She looked somewhere above his left shoulder and said:

"Okay, Snozzles. But you owe me." She would never admit she was doing this for his sanity and Katara's best shot of being found.

"Okie-dokie!" Teo's shout made everyone in the meetings room look at him. "What do we know?"

Sokka rolled his eyes and kept playing with a pencil. Teo was the youngest of them, but extremely bright. A little too happy for his own good, but it was refreshing having someone so young on the team. That and the fact he laughed at every joke sokka made, even the bad ones. The boy also had a degree in mechanical engineering and it was freaking scary how good he was at thinking like an assassin.

And then, Suki walked in. Suki was his crush from forever, but she had never made it easy for him.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, standing up from his seat at the head of the table. "You are from homicides! This is a missing person's case."

"I invited her." Toph walking in. "We need the best hands on deck and that means Suki." And the fact that Katara may be dead already, but she didn't say that part. "You can start, Suki." She crossed her ankles and put them on the long table.

The detectives in the room turned to the screen behind Suki. Some pulled little note pads or laptops. Sokka just raised his eyes; he was in his serious mood.

"Ladies and gentleman", Suki began, "we got this case from the regional police this morning, which means we are starting late. The information we have so far is little and we need more to go on with the investigation. Your job is to point out any strange details and fast. Katara Mae Nakhoda-", and a picture of Katara's beautiful face covered the screen, when she clicked the right button, she was so beautiful and happy. Impossible not to fall a little in love with her smile. "-has been missing since tuesday. Her last call was to her best friend, Yue Mizuki." The image on the screen changed to Katara and Yue at a MET gala. "Yue is the person who contacted the police. She said Katara called her on the day of her disappearance, around 4 pm, to tell her she was going on a date. Katara had broken up her relationship of two years with the former teacher, today, a politician Aang Kazumi, on sunday."

"Aang was really sad, but he isn't a suspect, is he?" Teo sounded offended. "He is my best friend, I know him well. He can't hurt a fly!" he threw his hands up, "He is a vegetarian, for the love of God!"

"You and Haru can check his alibi, then", Toph's voice interrupted the boy. "He says he was home and there are cameras everywhere on his house, so good luck with that."

Teo didn't look pleased, but knew better than to say anything.

"Well," Suki continued, "Katara is a world wide celebrity. She's been the cover of too many magazines or outdoors not to be recognized, so we are working with the possibility she may look different." On the screen, photoshopped pictures of Katara's face were on display. In each one she had a different hair color. "The first police report tells us her apartment is spotless. Nothing out of place or missing, except for her wallet."

"We know Sweetness didn't leave willingly, though." Toph straightened herself and lowered her feet. Sokka looked at her puzzled. "I saw some weird ass shit on the photographs the cops took. I want to go there and look for myself. Sokka, you come with me. Suki, get access to her emails, cellphone, instagram and bank accounts, everything." The boss pointed to Sokka and stormed out of the meetings room.

"So… Is she blind or not?" Teo asked hesitantly.

"Don't ask, buddy, it's not worth it." And with that he followed her.

The building where Katara's flat was located was beyond his wildest dreams.

When she said she was moving from her house to an apartment, he thought she wanted to save some money, but that was not the case. The apartment was huge. He could see floor to ceiling windows, shiny tabletops and expensive furniture.

"Wow", he said after ducking the tape on the front door.

"What, you never visited your sister?"

"Well…", he was completely shocked. He saw his sister once in six months or so, but never at her place. She would invite him to lunches in luxurious restaurants after a particularly good paycheck. "I've never been here before."

"And I thought you would help", she snorted and wandered slowly through the living room, caressing the furniture with gloved hands.

Toph couldn't see, but it was one missing sense against all her intelligence. She could feel certain things in the air and her guesses were pretty good. And her gut was screaming that Katara was abducted for a reason and not only for her fame.

"C'mon, Nakhoda, I want you to say everything you see out loud."

Sokka was expecting her usual request and started the description.

"Ok… This room seems perfectly in order. You know, Katara was a freak and liked everything organized." He observed the sofa and rug, "All very clean, as the cops wrote, no marks or strange prints." The man moved to the windows and shelves. A small smile curled his lips. "Her books. She was the book-smart of the family. Look, John Donne! It was her favorite author."

"Really?" Toph knew her prejudice against models was not true, but didn't stop her nasty tone. "Grab all books from this author, then. Let's have a look at the Bureau."

He did as he was told, quickly opening and spying the yellow pages, then putting them inside plastic bags. He stopped his motions when a glimpse of his sister's handwriting caught his eye. Opening the book completely, he read:

"Alas, who's injured by my love?"

"What?", Toph's voice called from the kitchen.

"Come here." And he noticed new things now, the sentence "We die and rise the same, and prove/Mysterious by this love" was circled, in the same manner some others, all romantic verses. "I think my sister was in love."

Evidence collected, both moved to her bedroom. It was strangely disorganized, bed undone, windows opened and clothes all over. Toph stopped by the door, still.

"Tell me what you see."

"Hm… I see mess. Clothes everywhere, windows open-"

"No." She interrupted him. "Tell me what is on the bed."

He got closer to the mattress.

"A sweet perfume, conditioner, I think. Lots of blankets, she was really cold all the time…" He walked to the other side. "A earring on the nightstand-"

"Only one?"

"Only one." And then it clicked. It could be a mess, but it was Katara's mess. She would always put her earrings together. It didn't make sense, but he knew this was wrong.

"This is evidence, don't touch it."

"I know, Beifong!"

"Look for other jewelry"

And he did. Nothing on or under the bed, nothing on the floor…

"Here. A ring. It's Aang's ring, so it makes sense, I guess."

"What would your sister do with her ex' ring?"

Not keep it, for sure. He looked in the suit and found nothing, then he held Toph by the elbow and went back to the living room. Running his eyes through the place he spotted a shiny object on the shelf. How could he have missed it?

His breath got caught in his throat. He approached the shelf slowly, as if it would explode and took his mother's necklace on his trembling hands. She had made sure the police would figure it out she was missing, because she left them clues.

Zuko couldn't talk.

He could barely breathe, but he was trying to hold back his panic. Someone took her. From her house, the safe place he found her, with his people looking out for her and it wasn't enough.

They took her.

The problem was who. He was the newest governor of Tokyo, but a politician since his teens. Enemies would line up to see his distress. But who knew about their romance? Who?

He released a slow breath, trying to calm down, but it was impossible. Three days and nothing. No trace, no news from the police or his hired detectives. It was as if she vanished. They even took her wallet, as if it would prove she left on her own.

The governor tried to complete the puzzle, the necklace on the apartment, no signs of struggles, but her clear message she was taken. He traced her phone to a pond, in a square. He let the police know the fact using one of his many infiltrated cops, but they made nothing out of it. He didn't know what to do. And when he felt this way, he usually went for her. Katara would kiss his cheek, hold his shoulders and help him see the right path.

He had a meeting with the town's counsellors and fellow politicians about the new politics and how he would reallocate communities at risk in new ground. Tokyo was a big city, but he wanted to give the best opportunity for all the citizens, and having people in neighborhoods without schools or hospitals wasn't a choice. Worse yet, places with no basic sanitation. He had rehearsed the speech with Katara many times.

She would applaud when he could get it all with the right tone and right words, chastise him when he forgot part of it or got nervous, only to grab his hands and lead him to his bed and lay on top of his red bedsheets. He wanted her in his arms forever. He needed her.

How would he present valid arguments in this state, he had no idea.

Arranging his suit and running a hand through his hair he tied it back, exposing the ugly red scar on his face.

"I am tired."

Her voice was sleepy and at the same time so full of emotion that it awoke him.

"Tired? Of me?"

"No, silly!" Katara slapped his chest. Her blue eyes meet his golden ones and fixed on his deformed eye. "I am tired of pretending. Tomorrow I will talk to Aang and leak to the press that we broke up." He looked at her, confused. She rolled her eyes. "His agent probably is going to want some kind of drama, though. Expect headlines saying he broke my heart or something like that." She smiled weakly, "I may even let them take a picture of me really sad."

He took her hand in his before propping himself in his elbows. Once settled on the bed he let go a long sigh. His mouth went dry. She observed all his expressions, felt his beating heart.

"And then?"

"Then," she settled on top of him. "I am going to spend a few weeks focusing on my career, obviously." She gave him a wolfish grin, hungry. "To be swapped off of my feet by a certain governor on the beneficent gala, in October. That is, if he will have me."

He held her to his chest and rolled them over, so that he was on top, pinning her down. His hot breath touched her cold skin and she shivered. He could do whatever he wanted to her, now.

"Oh, I want you." His lips were on her neck, moving slowly. "All of you." He kissed her lips, gently. She pulled him closer. "You think this is the right moment?"

"Yes. My name is established as the most successful model for the season. You got the governor job." Her fingers grazed his face. "Aang wants to pursue a higher title, too, which means he needs to look serious. He can find someone better."

"I doubt that very much. There is no one better than you." And he was kissing her again, rolling his hips and she responded eagerly. The feeling of his skin on her made her melt, forget her own name and remember one thing only.

"I love you." She whispered between kisses and felt his smile grow when he buried his face on her neck, smelling the sweet smell of her conditioner.

"Marry me, Katara."

"What?" She pushed him. Eyes wide, mouth open and her hair everywhere on the pillows, on her face, inebriating his senses. His smile grew wider. "Marry me, marry me, marry me..."

"Yes!" Her hand found his face, pulling his forehead to hers. "Yes, Zuko. Marry me." Her lips formed a perfect smile and he trailed kisses from her mouth to her shoulders and then more.

Two day after that, she was taken.

Thanks for reading and following!
Oh! I have no Beta, so forgive typos.