Rekindling

Chapter 8

I'm waking from this dream

Returning to reality is so bittersweet

But I open my eyes and the illusion is fading

Slipping away

Although I've found you, I know this meeting will not last

I have to let go, continue finding your way

Though I will miss you

It's time to wake from this dream

(Remembering, Yutaka Yamada)

The first time she had laid her wistful eyes on one Hong Zuko, her gaze zeroing to the scar adorning a quarter of his face, she had known his name was nowhere near Lee Huang Zhi.

Lee has gotten everyone fooled. Hair long and unkempt, eyes scalding with jagged edges, facial expression constantly troubled—the image of Lee was a blatant contrast to the pristine, eager-to-please and ironed out Hong Zuko who appeared in the newspapers beside the Hong patriarch, Ozai. No one in the right and rational mind would mistake Lee for Zuko, especially when the incident that caused that permanent burn mark in his face was safely kept from the public.

But Akashi Seijuro knew, and so, Koudjida Shinayane also knew. Akashi had told her about the Agni Enterprises heir one afternoon with tea cups held in their hands. Her childhood friend had appeared serene as he had narrated events of the scandal with completely detached words as if he was presenting statistics of their latest sales. The redhead had always been hard to read, like a math problem she couldn't solve even after wracking her brain and heating her ass on the seat the whole day. Growing up with him, however, made it possible for her to pick up the subtle narrowing of his hooded eyes and very slight upturn of lips. Bitterness had blanketed his face, and it wasn't too hard for Yane to realize that her Seiju-kun was wondering how ironically fortunate he was to be better off than Zuko.

Even when he was in his own version of despair.

She didn't tell Zuko that she knew Akashi, or that she knew a little about his past. Doing so would've added salt over his wounds, and doing so would open up conversations she wanted nothing to do with. So, she left it at that and let him tell his own story.

"Yane!"

She started, the line of thoughts in her mind making a broken turn at the sudden call of her name. Yane turned around in time to receive the hug that was thrown around her shoulders.

"Katara," she breathed. "It's so good to see you again!"

When Katara finally pulled away, Yane caught a glimmer in those sapphire orbs that never failed to bathe her with kindness. She knew that she had so many questions she wanted to ask, but Yane was ready to answer. It's been three years since they last saw each other, and they had never talked to each other between that transition of time. In a way, she was glad Zuko kept his promise to leave her be. Unfortunately, as it had always been, distancing from one person included distancing from his friends.

He must've already told them what happened between them, but Zuko's friends had become hers, too. She at least owed them an explanation.

"Can't say the same thing," another voice spoke and Yane caught sight of Toph whose grin widened. "Literally speaking, that is."

"Toph, you... you're..." and she trailed off as her eyes fell on the huge bulge around her belly. "You're pregnant?"

"I'm not the only one," Toph replied airily with good-natured but teasing smirk and promptly gestured to Katara.

"You're both pregnant!" Yane gasped. "But, when? And who? I mean, Katara, you're married to Aang already?"

She winced as the words left her mouth. A fright electrocuted her chest and she wondered whether she had assumed wrongly and had unduly placed herself in an awkward position. But thank God above, Katara winked at her and rubbed her hypogastric area.

"We had a small wedding. Only our friends and a few people in the hospital I work in know."

"How many weeks?"

"Going by LMP, 7 weeks and 2 days."

"Bring your medical lingo somewhere everyone can understand, will you?" Toph jeered, to which Katara responded by shooting her a look.

"What about you, Toph?" Yane asked. "Did you finally marry the Eddie guy Sokka keeps talking about?

Toph made a cross of a snort and a scoff as she waved her off. "Nah. Turns out Eddie is gay. I met a few guys afterwards and well, one was pretty straightforward about wanting to have sex with me, so I let him have it."

Yane felt her face burn at the crass and shameless recounting of Toph's sex life, and she seemed to have noticed by the way she amped up her mischievous smile. Yane decided she has had enough information and did not pursue the topic further. Instead, she asked, "What's his name?"

"Oh," Toph deadpanned, disappointed that Yane did not take the bait and started picking at her nails disinterestedly. "The jerk's name is Mark Miller."

"No, I meant the baby," she laughed and Katara shook her head.

"Oh," Toph said again, but this time, with an inflection that matched the way her colorless irises brightened in a way Yane couldn't comprehend. "It's a 'she'. Tell you what, I'd love to tell you more about this little guy in here, but let's take this inside. I'm feeling my back."

"Wow, Toph, you sound like an old woman," Katara snickered but linked her arm to Toph's.

"I don't want to hear that from someone who's older than me," she shot back coyly.

"Hey! I'm only 2 years older!"

Yane observed the way Toph leaned to Katara's touch while she kept up with her obnoxious taunting of the tan-skinned woman's senile age. She noted the way Katara yelled back at the pale and shorter girl with an affection one would see from an older sister. Her heart ached and suddenly, she yearned to smell the peach-scented cologne of her friend back home.

"Orange, are you coming or not?"

Yane blinked back the memories that were already playing in her mind, before chuckling and grabbing Katara's already outstretched hand.

"Stop stuffing your face with all these nuts, Taiga! You'll be full by the time the main entrees are served."

Kagami only managed to look glumly at her before unceremoniously shoving another handful of said nuts in the cavernous pit known as his mouth. And to irk her further, Kosuke mimicked him and popped a considerably fewer pieces in his mouth.

"Baby," she said in a warning tone.

"Oka-chan, you should try it," he replied instead, picking up a nut with his chopsticks and presenting it to her. "It's so much better than the freebies you bring home."

"Don't you know I squabble with those doctors to win those nuts home? And then, you tell me they're no good?"

Seeing that she wasn't going to take a bite, the blond boy threw the nut into his mouth and began to chew. "I didn't say they weren't good. Besides, I think Uncle Shintaro will like the packets of mixed nuts more than we will. Can't we bring them to Japan for him, instead?"

"I guess. I'll just tell him I bought it for him rather than telling him that I got them from the hospital stash, huh?"

Kosuke laughed at her and winked like they were sharing a deep secret—a look that Yane swore she saw somewhere almost what felt like centuries ago. "I won't tell, Oka-chan."

She forced a smile, in turn. "That's my baby."

"Shouldn't you be sitting beside them?" Kagami threw in once he had his fill.

Yane glanced to the direction he was pointing at and saw Suki practically sprinting towards Katara and Toph, who both, upon seeing her, stood from their seats to welcome her. Sokka trailed behind her, but his attention was focused on their table, both his arms waving like a maniac with an elated smile smeared over his face.

As she raised her hand to wave back, she noticed that he still sported the same witty air and easygoing nature, but his hair, which had always been tied in a wolf-tail, was slicked back. The new look made his undercut appear more appealing than before. More tamed but still manly, shall she say it. It suited the event today.

Sokka pointed at Kagami, who in turn nodded in acknowledgment, his eyes flaring with excitement reminiscent of those he wore before a basketball game.

"They're still busy entertaining the other guests," she told Kagami as he flashed Sokka a thumbs up.

"Who's that?" Kosuke asked, eyebrows raised.

"That's your Uncle Sokka and Aunt Suki," she answered as she watched Suki smile at her and made motions closely interpreted as 'talk later?'. "They used to come by often. Taiga and Sokka would show each other off in eating contests just to see which of them can devour 10 burgers without passing out."

"Isn't that unhealthy?" he wrinkled his nose, making Yane laugh softly.

"It's nothing new, right?"

"But still," he chirped worriedly. "If Oji-chan isn't exercising, I bet he's supposed to be obese already."

"Ace, don't start," Kagami spat, his supposedly sharp threat failing to instil the intended effect.

The image of a nasty-looking beer-bellied Kagami allowed bubbles of laughter to effervesce from her stomach.

"Oka-chan?"

"Yeah?" she asked absentmindedly, still watching her old friends from afar.

"Can you take a picture with me in the garden outside? While the food isn't here yet?"

"Oh, why?" she blinked at her son's eager demeanor. "Anything interesting outside?"

"Didn't you see the big stone dragon with bamboos surrounding it?" Kosuke made a show of spreading his hands to describe the enormity of the said statue. "We need to have a remembrance."

"Fine, fine," she said, amused, picking up her phone from her purse. "Will you stay here, Taiga?"

"I'll watch our stuff," he replied and sniffed the tea served to their table. "Don't take too long."

"Aww, don't be sad, Taiga! We'll come back as soon as we can. Don't stray too far away, okay?"

"Oi!"

"Come on, Ko-chan," Yane called as she pulled the snorting boy to stand.

The posh Chinese restaurant was similar to the ones she had frequented whenever Akashi asked her to come with him to one of his boring dinner meetings. It had a regal aura in each of the pillars that stood to hold the high ceilings inside the establishment. Red, gold and earth painted the interior, slithering on the walls and floors as intricate carvings that certainly took a gifted artist to create. Yane could pick up a faint scent of a strange mix between agarwood, incense and fresh tea. It was oddly pleasant, and almost addictive.

The whole place honestly looked intimidatingly selfie-worthy. Almost like a Chinese mob's expensive lair. Her mouth had been watering and she was a hair away from also begging Kagami to take a photo of her by the huge porcelain vase that was almost twice her size. Yet, in a surprising composition of balance, the venue was homey with the soft dim lights and mellow Chinese instrumental music. Almost like Jasmine Dragon Tea shop.

Such an antithesis.

So, very Zuko.

"I told you it was huge!" Kosuke borderline yelled in awe, beholding the figure of an ancient dragon, carved out of perfection and master craftsmanship, looming over them and staring down at them like they were mere, flitting ants under its gargantuan talons.

She stared at the enormity of that long jade body and wondered how much the whole thing costed, and as she gaped openly, "Wow" was the only thing she could say.

"Look at those red eyes!" he pressed on with his excitement pouring over. "Are those rubies? 'Ka-chan, someday when I get rich, I'm going to buy you something even bigger than that. Do you want a phoenix instead? Or a lion? Turtle? Can I go get Oji-chan? He might want to have a selfie, too!"

Sometimes, her blond angel was as talkative as someone she knew. With all the willpower she could muster, she fought down the upcoming thought and stepped forward to put a hand on his shoulder. Yane cocked her chin to the direction of the dragon and said, "Are you having the picture or not? Go stand there already and I'll take the photo. I'm starving."

"Told you you should've eaten some nuts," Kosuke pouted and complied.

"I'm tired of nuts," she grumbled and angled her phone in ready for the snap.

"Why don't I take the photo of you two?"

She jumped and made a garbled noise of a duck who was shot down from the sky, almost, but not quite dropping her phone. Talk about a jump-scare. Her eyes twitched as her two fingers held the device now only a few inches from the ground. Keeping her head down and her body bent, she inhaled and exhaled, inhaled and exhaled before thinking that she was probably just stalling what she was bound to face anyway. Yane stood up straight, hand and phone close to her chest as her onyx eyes connected with molten gold.

"Yane," Zuko breathed, and Yane felt her own breath hitch in her throat. "You came."

There he stood, with flesh and bones—no longer a mirage she had been accustomed to seeing only as a figment of her memories. His hair had gotten shorter and neater. His physique had gotten stronger. His stride buoyed with confidence. His smile, not a hint of sadness to taint the pure joy his lips told.

She stood there, too, basking in the sun which finally broke out of the clouds to bestow earth with its radiant shine. "You look great."

He chuckled, and his soft voice brought her back to reality. It was then when she realized who walked behind him.

"Yane, I want you to meet Mai," he said before turning his head and looking at his companion with eyes that welled with love and adoration. "Mai, this is Yane."

Mai had her coal black her tied up to a neat bun, large camellia flowers adorning both sides. Her small eyes, just like her hair, were dark—in fact, so dark Yane could drown by just looking at them. Her smile was small, but it suited her petite face and pristine visage. Alluring and cold. A fine complement to Zuko's fiery core. Yane waited for a prick of jealousy to nick her in the corners of her heart, but to her pleasant surprise, she felt nothing but acceptance and a little simmer of happiness.

It had been three years since she had told Zuko to chase after what he thought he had abandoned in exchange for a new life. He did get one. A different one from what he had been yearning for, but so much more better than any of them had expected. She couldn't have been more proud.

"Hi, Mai," she found herself greeting her jovially, the smile tugging at the corner of her mouth easily. "It's nice to meet—"

Her words were cut off abruptly with a light 'oof', Mai's arms now enveloped around her slender frame. She awkwardly raised her own to return the hug, albeit confusingly and with just the right amount of unsurety. Yane picked up a hint of lilies instilled in the fragrance from the camellia in her hair before she was released from the hug.

"I've heard so much about you," Mai informed her, her voice husky as she shared with her a look that had underlying messages in it.

Yane didn't know if it was a trick of the eye so she tried not to think much about it. "Good things, I hope."

The raven-haired girl gave Zuko a sidelong glance. "He told me everything."

She hoped her unease did not appear in her face as hundreds of questions ran a thousand miles per second in her brain. What did she mean by everything? Everything, as in, everything? Or everything, as in, the some fragments of truths carefully filtered out to preserve her womanly dignity as the 'one who presumably got away'?

Quickly, she shot Zuko a look and said, "Oh? He told you about how I was a pain to his neck when he supervised my 'shoddy' and 'sloppy' work? Or about how I resemble those serial killer clowns in horror movies when I'm on a high?"

Mai's smile made a smooth transition from pleased to amused. "He did emphasize those."

She actually chortled at that, feeling the wariness leave her body by a large degree. "I'm glad Zuko is still as painfully frank as ever. Mai and Zuko," she paused to gaze upon the couple, and, "Congratulations on your wedding."

"Congrats!" Kosuke piped up from her side. Yane blinked at him, forgetting that her son was actually standing next to her.

"Thank you, both of you," Mai bowed.

"Hey, there, Kosuke," Zuko bent down as well, but for a different reason. He placed his hand on top of Kosuke's head and gave it a light ruffle. "Long time, no see."

Kosuke made a puzzled expression and scrutinised Zuko's face with narrowed eyes. Yane was about to chide him for staring too long (at the man's scar, unavoidably so) when Kosuke spoke, "Your eyes look familiar."

"I used to come by your house often. I taught you a few magic tricks, remember?"

"I..." he scratched his cheek. "I think I remember a bit."

"Hey, why don't you come with me first, and I'll tell you more about Zuko so you could remember," Mai made a sidestep towards Kosuke, her white dress fluttering ever so slightly from the wind that blew its light and chilly gust. "What do you say?"

Yane shook off her momentary confusion when she realized what Mai was probably doing. Still, she couldn't help the furrowing of her brows, especially when Kosuke furtively looked at her underneath those long lashes. She easily translated the look of concern in his guarded eyes. It filled her with pride and affection for her son.

She nodded at him with a smile of reassurance. "Go tell Taiga I'll be back."

That earned him a smile of his own, and with that, he was ushered by Mai back into the function room.

"I'm glad you made it," Zuko said once the two were out of earshot and walked closer to the dragon sculpture they were marvelling about just a few minutes ago.

Now that they were alone, nervousness slowly creeped back along her spine, but she steeled herself to follow his brief trail and managed to say honestly, "I'm glad you made it."

She really was. To have come this far to fulfil the promise he made was no small feat, but there had always been that huge trust in Zuko's packed up in the back of her mind where she did not touch for the past few years. He's moved on, and now more than ready to take back what was rightfully his. Earlier the day, she stared at her reflection in the mirror as Yane questioned, hopefully for the last time, whether she had made the right choice to let him go. A flower like that was so hard to find. She'd be one foolish woman to leave it be to wilt under the unforgiving glares of the sun or the cruel, battering force of the rain.

But who was she kidding but herself? She left the flower amongst the others, and it thrived and bloomed into something she could barely recognize. She'd be one foolish woman to cut it from its stem and keep it in her vase to dry out and wither.

She made the right choice after all.

Yane was surprised for the second time that night when she suddenly felt his arms encage her into a tight embrace. With her face buried in his chest, Yane started to feel the panic erupting from the pit of her gut as she struggled to break free from what felt like a vice grip.

"Zuko!" she hissed with a harsh whisper and was rewarded by an even tighter squeeze. "Let me go! Your wife will see, damn it."

His chest vibrated with a low rumble of laughter. "I asked permission from her."

"I don't know what happened, but you're crazier than you were before. And that's saying a lot, considering how you were," she growled and tried to shove him off her.

Zuko made no attempt at a reply. After what seemed like hours, he decided to release her, a satisfied smile glued to his face like another mark.

"Wipe that obnoxious smile off, will you?" she huffed.

"What, you didn't miss me?" he chuckled, the sound of his voice still a bit hoarse and velvety at the same time.

"That's not an appropriate thing to say to a woman on your wedding night, Chinese man."

He laughed again as he leaned back on the towering pillar behind them. "Don't tell me you really didn't, Japanese woman."

"I did," she admitted with begrudge as she took a step beside him. "So, what's up?"

Zuko stared at her eyes for a minute, as though he was trying to figure out the riddle set out before him. He averted his gaze away when she raised her eyebrows and spoke, "The night we parted always, I went home right after and thought hard about the things you told me. I felt so lonely again, and I didn't know who to talk to about it. You were usually my listening ear. It would take some time to get used to keeping those thoughts in my head and waiting for someone to answer my quiet demands.

"But I remembered someone who once listened to all my childish rants." Zuko's voice was only a soft murmur as he went on, "I tried to contact Uncle Iroh."

"What happened then?" she couldn't help but ask.

"My uncle is wise and skilled, but he's a boomer," Zuko laughed, fondness evidently enmeshed in insult. "He doesn't have any phone I can call. Thankfully, Wu had means to reach him. They have this association of old geezers and odd folks called White Lotus. You know, the kind you see in Chinatowns?"

"We have those in Japan, too," she affirmed.

"Wu pointed me to one of the inns Uncle stayed in. I apologized to him there, and," Zuko heaved a deep sigh. "He forgave me. After what I did to betray his trust, he hugged me and told me I was like a son to him."

Yane placed her hand on his shoulder even though she knew he needed no comfort. She smiled at him. "You did a great job there."

Zuko returned the gesture and grinned back. "It took several months of convincing and bribing on his part, but Uncle Iroh pushed me to finally make a call back home. To Mai. She wasn't as easy to talk to, unlike Uncle, and for a very good reason, too."

"But it worked out in the end, right?" she inquired, throwing a meaningful glance at the direction of the function room where Mai and her son had gone to. "You're even married now. Honestly, I was shocked beyond belief when the first thing I heard from you after three years is an invitation to your wedding ceremony."

He made a halfhearted upward curve of his lips and blinked at her apologetically. "I didn't mean—"

"Hold it," she exclaimed, lifting a finger up. "I'm not asking for an apology or explanation. I'll admit I felt a pang of... I don't know, longing? Envy? But anything negative I felt was overpowered by the happiness I felt for you. I genuinely am happy for you, Zuko. You deserve this much. No, you deserve even more than this."

A grateful twinkle graced his eyes. "Thanks, but I'm a bit scared."

"Of what?"

"Of myself. I can't fully trust myself to protect everyone I love from my father, or from myself for that matter. Sometimes, I see myself behaving like him, acting based on the principle he drilled into me since I was a kid.

"But," he said, just when she was about to tell him he was different. "I have friends who won't let me become like him. They won't hesitate to punch me in the face when the time comes."

"I'll be one of the friends to punch you."

The glare she had missed so much permeated his dramatically determined expression as he turned to her. "I guess violence hasn't left you."

"I guess sourpuss temper hasn't left you."

The stare-off lasted less than ten seconds. The silence completely left the two when strings of laughter tumbled out of their mouths.

How she missed this.

"So, I heard you're asked to go back to Japan?" he said when the simper died down.

"How did you know?" she asked suspiciously.

"Taiga and I kept contact."

Her mouth fell slightly open at this tidbit of information. "What, really? He never told me."

"Well," he began with sarcasm laced in that single word. "You could expect him to just casually tell you he's chatting with me when all you did was mope like a heartbroken teenager when you thought no one was looking."

"He told you I was moping?" she cried. "That frickin' traitor!"

Zuko crossed his arms. "Does it bother you?"

"Of course, it does. I can't believe he said—"

"I didn't mean that. Does it bother you that we kept in touch?" he pressed, voice hard and serious.

"No," she replied with a shrug. "On the contrary, I'm thankful that you didn't sever your friendship just because we... kind of broke up. When I saw the others a while ago, I felt guilty that I stopped talking to them or taking their calls. Just because we decided to call if off doesn't mean they stopped becoming my friends. I think I have to apologise for that, huh?"

"I talked to them. They understand."

"I still have to explain, though," she intoned sheepishly. "They deserve that much. But, speaking of, I haven't seen Aang yet, but Katara's here."

"Aang's just running a bit late to pick up some papers, but he was in the Church wedding earlier," he shrugged and pressed his lips as though he was keeping himself from smiling widely at a recent memory that crossed his mind.

"Church wedding?" she repeated.

Zuko set his eyes back to meet her curious ones and gave her a nod. "I read the book you gave me. Saved me."

Ah, there it was. The very truth that transformed Zuko to an entirely different person. Someone saved by grace. The tears were barely suppressed as she packed him a friendly punch on the arm. "Took you long enough."

There was a silence between them. It gave her some time to recount the moments since she stepped foot in this Chinese Restaurant as a guest in Zuko and Mai's wedding reception. There were only a few other guests from what she heard from Katara—just some close friends and co-workers, and some of Iroh's Pai Sho-slash-White Lotus buddies. She hasn't seen Korra, Mako and Bolin, either.

Mustering up her courage, she asked, "Does your family know?"

"Only Uncle Iroh," he replied before his features darkened. "But Mai's parents and brother know. It won't take long before my father and sister find out."

"I see."

He made a swift and barely perceptible shake of his head before arching his brow. "Enough changing subjects, Yane. Are you going take Caduceus's offer to go back Japan?"

Grumbling at her futile attempts of escape, she sighed, "I'm still thinking about it. I still have a year to consider the project."

"What's holding you back?"

"You already know," she muttered, dropping her eyes to the patterns of gold and black on the marble floor. "It won't be easy to hide Kosuke from people."

"I know we're not the same. Our circumstances are nowhere near similar, except," he paused to fix the cuff of his gray coat—at least, that was what it looked like at first glance. Yane squinted her eyes as Zuko removed his cufflink, one that was vaguely shaped like a small tongue of flame, and pressed it into her palm.

When she flickered her eyes at him with a question mark written over her frown, he continued, "I noticed we're both at least comparable to fire. Fire dies down when cooped up in a closed space without oxygen, because it's meant to blaze out in the open air and provide warmth to its surroundings."

She stared down at the cold piece of metal in her hand as she digested his words. "Are you giving this to me?"

"For the sake of poetic symbolism," he rubbed his chin. "Yes. I brought an extra if that's what you're worried about."

A watery laugh left her lips as he fished out a plainer cufflink from his breast pocket. "But now, they're mismatched."

"No one's going to see," he said and promptly fastened it in.

Yane let the cufflink roll in her palm before she picked it up with two of her fingers and observed the little details in it. There were so much at stake. She couldn't even think about facing each of the friends she left behind without any explanation. She just disappeared because it was convenient for her, not sparing an ounce of care for those who would've been there to nurse her wounds. But then, didn't she deserve at least that? To be afforded the chance to run away when all she had been doing her whole life was using her own body and throwing it across a battlefield without as much of a thought about her well-being?

Couldn't she be selfish once in a while?

"But I'm not saying you should go back," Zuko suddenly blurted out upon sensing the gloom now surrounding her and weighing her shoulders down to a slump. He waved his hand comically in front of him, looking like he'd just insulted her mother with the kinds that warranted severe punishment. "I'm not trying to force you into anything. I just wanted to say, carry on with your life? Think about what you truly want in this universe, and just keep moving forward... Argh! You know giving talks like these isn't part of my skill set."

What she truly wanted?

Embracing what she truly wanted was a thought that terrified her immensely, so she avoided those waters as much as she could. However, Zuko's words managed to undo those blindfolds on her eyes for a while until she caught a glimpse of it.

The laughter that left her lips felt like catharsis. Though it sounded like it edged on madness and the inexplicable sense of reckless freedom, she felt like the suffocating hand around her throat loosened. Even if only a bit.

Zuko scratched the back of his head and struggled for words to say, but Yane shook her head and curled her fingers around the now precious memento. "You're still a dork."

"That's not something I want to hear from you," he harrumphed but relaxed visibly.

"Thanks," she said. "I'll keep that in mind."

"I'm here for you, Yane. Always."

"Likewise."

The two observed each other's eyes. Obsidian met gold—a rare event such as when the moon was permitted to come across the sun in an eclipse. A fleeting moment in time was all the two individuals needed to get back on their paths. Yane couldn't have thought out a more apt metaphor for this special encounter.

"Come on," he said as he pushed off from the pillar and straightened out his coat. "I'll introduce you to Uncle Iroh. You'll love him."

"Does he make better tea than you?" she asked and followed the suit.

"Of course," he glowed with pride. "I learned from the best."

That night, Yane lowered herself slowly until back connected with the feather-soft fabric of her bed, a sigh of content escaping her. She raised her arm to hold the fire cufflink in the air as she squinted her eyes to trace the outlines of the flame.

Unlike her, Zuko has gotten everything figured out. He was planning to go back to China, along with his wife, Iroh, Aang and the rest of the gang. With the indispensable help of his uncle, who, Yane just learned, was also a powerful man in his own league, they would be able to go back immediately and most importantly, protected from any schemes Hong Ozai might have under his sleeves. Aang was going to fulfil his role as whistleblower to the Yong Fu oil rig scandal. Zuko was going to fight for his position in Agni Enterprises.

And when all that was settled, they were going to look for his still missing mother.

Figuring himself out, no matter how significant of an accomplishment that was, was still just a single step closer to his goal. The next hurdles he'd have to face was neither going to be a walk in the park nor a breeze in the wind. But at least, she thought, Zuko was ready. He wouldn't be alone this time.

Yane let her arm drop by her side and squeezed her eyes shut before relaxing and releasing yet another sigh—one that was laced with resignation to defeat.

That night, she let go and slipped passed through the barriers her mind created for her heart and indulged herself in a forbidden decadence. The scent of citrus encased her and enthralled her until her feet carried her to where she had always thought she belonged.

There, he stood, in the middle of sand and sea.

Golden eyes. Golden hair. Golden heart.

For once, she let herself fall back into his arms without any restraints and guilt.

That night, she met the man she thought she forgot in her dreams.

Again, the outside characters here are from Kuroko no Basuke. Disclaimer, not mine!

Well, that concludes it. Hope you enjoyed somehow! Keep safe everyone!