Chapter 17: The Final Agni Kai
Rinzen didn't know when she and the others had all fallen asleep curled up together, but she recognized Zuko's voice nearby when she stirred, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she opened them to find him and Iroh seated around a campfire nearby. She was relieved to see them both smiling, Iroh with his arm around Zuko's shoulders and Zuko leaning slightly into his uncle's embrace.
Noticing her eyes on them, Iroh looked over, smiling broadly and waving her over. She carefully climbed to her feet to avoid waking Katara, who had fallen asleep beside her, and made her way to Iroh's other side, wrapping her arms around him tightly.
"It's so good to see you again, Rinzen," he said warmly as he wrapped his free arm around her in return, still holding onto his nephew with his other arm.
"I missed you," she admitted, burying her face briefly into Iroh's shoulder. "I'm so glad you're safe."
Iroh had clearly lost a lot of weight while in prison and had replaced it with lean muscle instead, leaving him no longer a portly old man, but someone much more like what she imagined the Dragon of the West in his prime must have looked like. His embrace was the same, though, gentle and fatherly in a way that reminded her of Monk Gyatso. Reluctantly, she pulled back after several moments, scrubbing at her eyes briefly when they began to sting.
"Are you two okay now?" she asked, glad that her voice didn't crack and give away how much seeing Iroh had affected her.
"Of course." Iroh squeezed Zuko's shoulders with his free arm, making Zuko smile faintly. "As if Zuko could do anything to make me angry with him."
Rinzen raised an eyebrow pointedly at Zuko and he rolled his eyes back at her. "Yeah, yeah, I know you told me so." He reached across Iroh to shove her shoulder.
"Serves you right for doubting me," she retorted, swatting at his hand in return.
"Some things never change," Iroh sighed wearily, but he grinned fondly all the same as he tightened his hold on both of them before letting go to retrieve the kettle he had placed over the fire and pouring out three cups of jasmine tea. To Rinzen's surprise, Zuko accepted his cup without protest, sipping it quietly.
Within the next few minutes, the rest of the group had gotten up and joined them with cups of tea of their own, still rubbing the sleep from their eyes and stifling yawns between sips of tea, and Zuko finally spoke once they were all seated around the dim campfire.
"Aang is missing. We don't know where he could be, or whether we can even find him before the comet arrives."
"I see," Iroh said quietly in response, his eyebrows furrowing slightly. "My guess, then, is that you've come here to ask me to fight Ozai in Aang's place. And I can't do that."
"Uncle, you're the only person other than the Avatar who can possibly defeat the Father Lord," Zuko protested, seemingly unaware of the slip-up he had made even as Katara caught Rinzen's eye across the campfire and they both bit their lips to stifle a giggle at Zuko's expense.
"You mean the Fire Lord," Toph corrected from Zuko's other side.
"Th-that's what I said!" he retorted, flustered.
"We need you to come with us," Rinzen insisted to Iroh, who shook his head.
"It won't turn out the way you think it will. I know you all mean well, but even if I did defeat Ozai - and I don't know that I could - it will be the wrong way to end this war." He poured himself another cup of tea, sipping it thoughtfully. "History would see it as just more senseless violence, a brother killing a brother to grab power. The only way for this war to end peacefully is for the Avatar to defeat the Fire Lord."
"And then…" Zuko hesitated. "Then would you come take your rightful place on the throne?"
Iroh shook his head again. "No. Someone new must take the throne. An idealist with a pure heart and unquestionable honor." He looked up at Zuko. "It has to be you, Prince Zuko."
"Unquestionable honor?" Zuko repeated, stunned. "But-" He glanced around at everyone else, hoping to find someone on his side, but they were all nodding in agreement. He glanced up at Rinzen next and she shrugged mildly.
"Hey, you may have made some mistakes along the way, but you're here now and that's what matters. Iroh's right. You belong on that throne." She tried not to think about whatever future awaited the two of them if Zuko became Fire Lord.
"But-" Zuko tried again helplessly, but Iroh reached out to squeeze his nephew's shoulder gently, silencing him.
"You have struggled, yes, and you have suffered. But you have also followed your own path, and restored your own honor. And only you can restore the honor of the Fire Nation."
Zuko swallowed thickly before dropping his gaze to the empty cup clutched tightly in his hands. "I'll try," he conceded reluctantly.
"What if Aang doesn't come back?" Toph asked tentatively after a long moment, bringing them back to the situation at hand.
Iroh exhaled thoughtfully. "Sozin's Comet will arrive by dusk today, and our destinies are upon us. Aang will face the Fire Lord." He bit his lip. "When I was a boy, I had a vision that I would one day take Ba Sing Se. Only now do I see that my destiny is to take it back from the Fire Nation so that the Earth Kingdom can be free again."
"That's why you gathered the members of the White Lotus," Suki confirmed, glancing at the campsite around them.
"Yes." Iroh smiled at her before facing Zuko again. "Zuko, you must return to the Fire Nation so that when the Fire Lord falls, you will be there to assume the throne and restore peace and order." Zuko nodded firmly. "Azula will be waiting for you," Iroh cautioned and Zuko frowned.
"I can handle Azula."
"Not alone," Iroh insisted. "You'll need help."
Zuko looked at Rinzen automatically and she raised an eyebrow back at him expectantly. "Oh, come on, are you really going to make me ask you?" he sighed wearily and she cracked a grin.
"Yeah, yeah, okay. She owes me a rematch from the catacombs, anyway."
"Katara?" Zuko addressed the waterbender next, who smiled back at him.
"It'd be my pleasure."
"Well, what about us?" Sokka said suddenly, gesturing to himself, Suki, and Toph. "What's our destiny?"
"What do you think it is?" Iroh answered calmly.
"Well…" Sokka chewed his lip in thought. "I think even though we don't know where Aang is, we need to do everything we can to stop the airship fleet."
"And that way when Aang does face the Fire Lord, we can be right there if he needs us," Toph agreed.
"The airship base is on a small island just off the Earth Kingdom shore," Master Piandao said as he appeared from around the side of the tent, bowing briefly to Iroh before ushering Sokka, Suki, and Toph to their feet. "You should be able to intercept the fleet before the end of the day if you take a giant eel-hound."
"A what?" Sokka echoed, an unnerved squeak in his voice as Piandao led him and his group away.
"So if I'm going to be Fire Lord, what will you do when the war is over, Uncle?" Zuko asked as he pushed himself to his feet, Rinzen and Katara following his lead.
"After I reconquer Ba Sing Se, I'm going to reconquer my tea shop." Iroh grinned wistfully. "And I'm going to play Pai Sho every day. One day, I might even win against Rinzen in a fair game."
"Keep dreaming, buddy," Rinzen deadpanned as she crossed over to Appa and ushered him to his feet. "I never play a fair game."
"So unsportsmanlike," Iroh scolded mildly, smiling all the same as he set about clearing the campsite. Zuko approached Rinzen as Katara followed Sokka to say goodbye to him, Toph, and Suki.
"Can we talk for a minute?"
"Sure." She patted Appa's nose gently before turning to face Zuko, frowning when she caught the nervous expression on his face. "What is it?"
He shuffled slightly on the spot, the tips of his ears red with embarrassment. "I, uh...look, I know things haven't exactly been as great as they used to be between us since what happened in Ba Sing Se, and I get it, I messed up really bad and you deserve better than that, but, well, we're kind of about to do something really dangerous now and-"
"Whoa, hey." She reached out instinctively, grasping his hands and lacing their fingers together. "Take a deep breath, you're about to hyperventilate." He sucked in a deep breath obediently before letting it out slowly.
"Sorry," he apologized. "But I've been trying to say this for a while now and now I'm messing it up."
"You're overthinking it. Just say whatever it is you're trying to say," she pointed out dryly.
"You're not helping," Zuko complained, but Rinzen was relieved to see a smile tugging at his lips. "Okay, fine, I'll keep it short." He hesitated before leaning down suddenly and kissing her. She froze, startled, and barely had a moment to register the kiss before he was pulling back again. "I love you. And you don't have to feel the same or say it back!" he said hurriedly when she opened her mouth to respond, still somewhat dazed. "I know you're still sorting things out, and you don't really want to think about us right now. But I just wanted you to know." He squeezed her hands lightly. "Okay?"
"Yeah. Okay." Rinzen didn't have much more time to come to terms with what had just happened as Katara approached them, frowning slightly.
"You two okay?"
"We're fine," Zuko reassured her, releasing Rinzen's hands as he climbed up into Appa's saddle.
Katara looked questioningly at Rinzen, who nodded back to her in agreement before climbing onto Appa's head and grasping his reins. With an exasperated sigh, Katara climbed into Appa's saddle as well, settling in opposite Zuko as Sokka, Suki, and Toph returned on the back of a giant lizard-like creature that Rinzen assumed was the eel-hound Piandao had spoken of.
"Goodbye, General Iroh," Katara called down to Iroh, who nodded back to her before locking eyes with Zuko.
"Today, destiny is our friend, I know it," he reassured his nephew. Zuko swallowed and then nodded back to him as Rinzen snapped Appa's reins lightly.
"Yip-yip." Appa soared into the air with a light push off the ground, Rinzen directing him back towards the Fire Nation as they watched Sokka, Suki, and Toph take off on the eel-hound down below. They raced across the land faster than even Jun's shirshu until they were out of sight well before Appa had broken through the low-lying clouds obscuring the sky.
As they flew through the day, the sun beat down on them, scorching hot despite it being close to the end of summer, and the sky began to take on the color of rust as an additional burning light began to streak closer and closer to the atmosphere of the planet.
"There it is," Zuko said quietly, nodding up to the light. "Sozin's Comet."
"It's almost beautiful," Katara noted, sounding slightly awed as Rinzen followed their gazes up to the comet. The day they had been training all this time for was finally here, and anxiety gnawed at her stomach at the thought of Aang being somewhere out of reach when they needed him the most.
"Rin?" Zuko's voice jarred her out of her thoughts and she looked away from the comet to find him watching her worriedly. "You okay?"
"Yeah." She dropped her gaze back to the reins tangled in her fingers. "Just worried about Aang. If he even shows up, will he be able to face the Fire Lord?"
"He will," Katara insisted, tearing her eyes reluctantly away from the comet as well to glance back at Rinzen. "He'll come back and he won't lose."
"For the world's sake, I hope you're right." Rinzen focused on guiding Appa down to the Fire Nation's capital city as they neared the shores, recalling the last time she had been brought to the capital city. She had been in chains then, dragged off a ship and shoved into a prison wagon so that she could be taken to Fire Lord Ozai's throne room and shown off by Azula as a victory prize from their takeover of Ba Sing Se. Zuko had been different then, too, firmly on Azula's side and welcomed back as an honored prince of the Fire Nation, or so he had thought at the time. Rinzen dared a peek back up at Zuko now, wondering what was going through his head, only to find him staring ahead at the courtyard of the royal palace in the distance, his expression grim. Following his gaze, she saw what had caught his eye: Azula knelt at the top of the steps, a Fire Sage behind her with a flame-shaped crown in his hands and lowering it slowly to nestle it in her hair.
"By order of Phoenix King Ozai, I now crown you Fire Lord-" The sage broke off when he caught sight of Appa soaring down towards the courtyard, his mouth falling open in shock.
"What are you waiting for?!" Azula snapped harshly as she glanced over her shoulder at the sage. "Do it!" She turned around again, her eyes narrowing when she caught sight of Appa landing at the far end of the courtyard, Rinzen, Zuko, and Katara sliding off the bison and landing on the cobbled stone below.
"Sorry, but you're not becoming Fire Lord today," Zuko called to his sister. "I am."
Azula laughed coldly, holding her hand up to stop the sage when he tried to proceed in crowning her. "You want to be Fire Lord so badly? Fine, let's settle this. The showdown that was always meant to be. Agni Kai!"
Rinzen felt cold dread wash through her at the thought of Zuko being thrown into another fire duel even as Zuko said immediately, "You're on." She shot him a sharp look, but he kept his gaze resolutely fixed on Azula, who smirked as she climbed to her feet somewhat shakily and sauntered down the stairs, a little more stagger in her walk than normal. Her lipstick was smeared, as if she had applied it hastily, and her hair was messier, too, several chunks uneven and jagged as if someone had taken scissors and snipped away at her hair with their eyes closed. Overall, she seemed far unlike the calm, collected Azula Rinzen had known all this time and more unstable than she had ever seemed in the past.
"This isn't a good idea," Rinzen warned Zuko quietly. "She's just trying to separate us, she knows she can't take on all three of us at once."
"Even you admitted to your uncle that you'd need help facing Azula," Katara hissed under her breath on Zuko's other side worriedly.
"I can take her," Zuko reassured her. "I don't know what it is about her, but she's slipping. I'll be okay." He turned to Rinzen, taking her hand and squeezing it. "Get Appa a good distance away, okay? The comet's almost here, there's going to be a lot of fire thrown around."
"Okay." She laced her fingers briefly with his before reluctantly releasing his hand and turning to guide Appa out of the courtyard. She caught sight of Azula's eyes darting between her and Zuko calculatingly. When she met Rinzen's eyes, she paused and then gave her a slow, cold smile, her ruby-red lips twitching at the corners unnervingly. Rinzen suppressed the ominous shiver that ran down her spine as she led Appa away from the palace, leaving him outside before doubling back to the courtyard.
She found Zuko and Azula kneeling away from each other on opposite ends of the makeshift Agni Kai arena, Azula having shed her outer silk robe to reveal the armor she wore underneath. Zuko lifted his head slightly when Rinzen approached, taking her spot beside Katara just underneath the roof that covered the stone pathway surrounding the courtyard.
"Be careful," she told him and he gave her a small smile.
"I will. Keep clear, both of you." Once he received a nod from both Rinzen and Katara, he took a deep breath and climbed to his feet, wheeling around to face Azula as she mirrored his actions on the other side of the courtyard.
"I'm sorry this has to end this way, brother," she called sarcastically, stumbling slightly into an offensive stance.
"No, you're not," Zuko answered stiffly as he settled into a defensive stance. Rinzen could hear the hint of sadness in his voice despite the unreadable expression on his face.
Azula took that as her cue to attack, sending a sudden blast of blue fire directly at Zuko, but Zuko reacted just as quickly, summoning two large walls of orange fire and combining it into one to block Azula's attack. It was clear that Sozin's Comet was already affecting their bending, as it was more powerful than Rinzen had ever seen either of them bend before.
Azula leapt over the walls of flame, spinning as she kicked forward and sent three quick blasts of blue flames in succession at Zuko, who rolled quickly out of the way and retaliated with another strong stream of orange fire that nearly smothered Azula's attacks out of existence. Azula dropped to the ground, confused by Zuko's sudden confidence in his own firebending, which Rinzen attributed to whatever he and Aang had discovered in the Sun Warrior ruins, before she swung a wave of fire at Zuko that he sliced through with a wall of fire of his own.
The arena was stiflingly hot with all the fire being thrown around that Rinzen could feel drops of sweat trickling down the back of her neck and beside her, Katara swiped at her forehead periodically, clutching at the stone pillar beside them worriedly as they watched the battle in front of them rage on.
With a burst of fire at her feet, Azula launched herself into the air, using the flames to skate on the cobblestones around Zuko and try to get at his back. He spun just as quickly, dropping close to the ground so that he could create a ring of fire that flew out and pushed Azula off her feet. She skidded back on the ground, disoriented and somewhat frightened as she stumbled to her feet, her hair in disarray and cascading down her back as it fell out of the messy topknot she had pulled it into.
"What's the matter? No lightning today?" Zuko called, panting slightly with the effort of firebending. "Afraid I'll redirect it?"
"Oh, I'll show you lightning!" Azula snarled back as sparks danced on her fingertips. She drew the lightning around her as the air crackled with energy, and Zuko instinctively took a deep breath, bracing himself to redirect the lightning.
Tension hung in the air for several long moments as the lightning gathered in Azula's hands, and she looked up suddenly, her hair hanging wildly in her face as her eyes darted away from Zuko and focused on Rinzen and Katara a few feet behind him. Rinzen realized what she was about to do a split second before she flung her hand out, firing the bolt of lightning.
Instinctively, Rinzen shoved Katara out of the way despite her shout of protest, but before she could brace herself somehow, Zuko threw himself in front of her. The lightning hit him in the chest and threw him across the courtyard, leaving him sprawled on the ground and twitching slightly as electricity raced through his body. A large part of his shirt was burned away, revealing a dark red burn on his chest where the bolt had made impact, and the scent of burned flesh and ozone filled the air.
"No!" The scream tore itself out of Rinzen's throat before she could stop herself even as her feet began to carry her forward, stumbling down the stone steps and running across the courtyard to where Zuko lay, but then a wave of blue fire made her skid to a halt as Azula leapt forward, cackling madly as she sprang at Rinzen. She threw out her hands to blast Azula away with a funnel of wind, sending the firebender careening backwards into a stone pillar.
Katara hurried forward, water already curling around her hands from her waterskin and starting to glow with healing power, but winced as Azula threw a bolt of lightning between her and Zuko to stop her in her tracks.
"I'd really rather our family physician look after little Zuzu, if you don't mind," she sneered before flipping herself up onto the roof of the courtyard and then raining down a volley of blue fire at them both. They dove out of the way behind another stone pillar as the flames rushed around them.
"She won't let us get to him," Rinzen said worriedly, glancing around the pillar at where Zuko lay. He had stopped twitching, but was now deathly still, his eyes closed and his skin paler than she had ever seen it.
"I know," Katara said, exhaling slightly in frustration as she glanced around for something that could help them, before something caught her eye. Rinzen followed her gaze to a metal grate further down the pathway and heard the sound of running water underneath - an underground sewer system.
Formulating a plan, she turned back to Katara. "There are chains on the walls near that grate. Grab them and get ready. I'll lead her to you."
Katara nodded grimly, pushing herself to her feet and waiting for an opening before taking off at a run, drawing Azula's attention briefly before Rinzen swung herself out from behind the pillar and onto the roof with a burst of air at her feet. She landed nimbly on the tiles before sending a blade of air that Azula dodged, leaping over it and sending an arc of fire at Rinzen. Rinzen rolled out of the way, making sure to aim herself in the direction of the grate.
"So how does it feel?" Azula taunted, staggering closer, and Rinzen pushed herself to her feet just in time to block a wave of fire with another blast of air. She could still feel the searing heat rushing past her, almost singing her skin.
"How does what feel?" she snapped back, trying to keep Azula distracted as she continued to step backwards and towards where Katara was waiting.
"Knowing that I killed him." Azula smirked cruelly, sparks dancing on her fingers again. "And after I shot your brother, too. Guess you just can't save anyone you love, can you?"
Red-hot anger rushed through Rinzen and, as if they had a mind of their own, her fingers curled into a fist and surged forward, making contact with Azula's face. The Fire Nation princess's nose broke with a sickening crunch and she shrieked in pain even as a bolt of lightning shot out from her fingertips, grazing Rinzen's shoulder as it zig-zagged past her. Ignoring the searing pain in her shoulder, she jumped back and grabbed the edge of the roof, swinging herself down and knowing Azula would follow. With a screech of rage, Azula jumped down after her, landing on the grate and stumbling slightly as her foot caught in one of the holes.
"Now!" Rinzen shouted, jumping back just as Katara bent the water around Azula, leaving her suspended within a large bubble and frozen except for her eyes, which were wide and darting around with fear and uncertainty. A thin trickle of blood trailed up from her broken nose into the water.
Rinzen grabbed one end of the chains from Katara, reaching into the bubble and helping Katara wind the chains around Azula's wrists before dragging her down to the floor slowly until she was forced to kneel on the grate. They looped the last of the chains through the holes of the grate to keep Azula secure before Katara bent the water back down into the tunnel below. Rinzen tightened the chains with one last firm tug before nodding to Katara, who took off at a run towards Zuko.
"You - you filthy peasants!" Azula wheezed furiously before frustratedly breathing out a blue stream of fire at Rinzen, who jumped back to avoid being burned.
"Be glad that all I did was break your nose," she answered once she recovered her balance. "We'll be back for you later." She turned and hurried after Katara, finding her on her knees beside Zuko and pressing her hand to his chest, rivulets of water glowing underneath her fingers as they worked to heal the wound. Instinctively, Rinzen dropped onto her knees on Zuko's other side and grasped for his hand even as Katara looked up, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Rin, I - I don't know how much I can do. I had to use water from the Spirit Oasis to heal Aang, I don't even have that now."
"Just do what you can," Rinzen insisted, feeling her own eyes stinging as her vision blurred. "Keep trying."
Swallowing, Katara dropped her gaze back to her work, drawing more water out of her waterskin and pressing it against Zuko's chest, and Rinzen focused on lacing her fingers with Zuko's, clutching his hand like a lifeline. The tears began to stream down her face, her hair sticking to her damp cheeks, but she made no attempt to brush it away as she desperately prayed that Katara's healing worked. Several long moments crawled by before Zuko's fingers twitched slightly against hers and he finally stirred, wincing in pain as he opened his eyes slightly.
"Katara?" he rasped as he peered up at Katara, who beamed back at him even as tears flowed freely down her cheeks. "Thank you." He struggled to push himself upright and Rinzen pressed a hand carefully against his back, supporting him as he sat up. He gave her a small, weak smile. "I'm okay, Rin." It was quite clearly a lie, given that he was grimacing in pain even as he said it, but it made Rinzen choke on a relieved sob all the same. She saw his expression shift into alarm for a brief moment before she collapsed against him and buried her face into his neck, clinging to him tightly. "Ow," he said faintly even as his arm slid around her in return.
"Sorry," she managed to get out thickly, but made no effort to let him go.
"Rin!" Katara scolded even as she sniffled. "You can't just throw yourself on him like that when he just-!" She fell silent abruptly and Rinzen assumed Zuko had just given her a look before he turned his head slightly to bury his face into Rinzen's hair.
"It's okay," he reassured her softly. "I'm okay, don't cry."
"You could've died, stupid," she hiccuped, swatting half-heartedly at his shoulder and he winced again.
"Maybe don't hit me when I could've died, then?" he offered tentatively, but she could hear the smile in his voice as he tightened his hold on her.
"Stupid," Rinzen repeated, sniffling as she pulled back just enough to catch the expression on his face, fond and amused despite how much pain he was clearly still in, before tugging him in to kiss him roughly, her nose bumping against his in her eagerness. He froze, startled, but then he kissed her back tenderly, his arm pulling her in closer. "I love you," she blurted out when she finally broke the kiss and reluctantly pulled away. The look of shock and awe on his face as he stared at her made all the agonizing she had gone through trying to come to terms with how she felt about him worth it.
"About damn time," Katara muttered as she pushed herself to her feet. "Do you have any idea how emotionally exhausting it is to be around you two?"
Zuko shook himself out of his daze, tearing his eyes away from Rinzen to roll them at Katara. "Hey, we figured it out in the end, didn't we?" He held his hand out to Rinzen and she grasped it to carefully help him to his feet, letting him lean heavily on her side and looping her arm around his waist.
A scream of rage jolted Rinzen back to the present as she looked over at where they had left Azula chained, finding her writhing around and breathing out jets of blue fire as she struggled against her chains. Slowly, her screams tapered off into broken sobs as she slumped against the grate, defeated, and Rinzen looked up to find Zuko watching his sister silently, his expression a mix of pity and bitter anger.
"We should get you inside," Katara said quietly and Zuko reluctantly looked away from Azula, frowning back at her. "You still need a lot of healing before you should be on your feet, and the war's far from over until Aang and the others arrive." The unspoken "if they arrive" still hung in the air, but none of them voiced the concern out loud.
"We can go to my rooms," Zuko agreed reluctantly. "They're close by." He glanced at Rinzen. "We should try to find Sora if we can, he'll be able to help us get control of the palace."
"Way ahead of you, buddy." Sora hopped down the ruined steps of the palace, crossing the distance to them with a few long strides. "The Fire Sages told the guards the moment you arrived," he explained before giving Zuko a critical once-over. "You look like you've seen better days."
Zuko rolled his eyes, but smiled faintly all the same. "It's good to see you, too. Are your mom and brother safe?"
"Yeah, I made sure they'd be out of the city before the comet arrived just like you told me to," Sora reassured him before giving Rinzen a bright smile. "Hi, Rin."
"Hi, Sora." Rinzen couldn't help a smile back at him; his excitement was infectious. "I'm glad you're okay."
"You, too." He ushered them into the palace, Rinzen and Katara supporting Zuko on either side as they helped him inside and down the hallways until they reached Zuko's rooms. Zuko and Sora kept talking the entire time, Sora trading information on the various guards and staff around the palace and whose side they were on while Zuko gave him instructions to follow on his behalf, since Katara insisted he remain on bed-rest until he had healed at least a little more. Once they got Zuko settled in his bed and Katara set to work healing the deep wound in his chest again, Sora took off to start securing the palace and taking Azula into custody.
"Rin, what happened to your shoulder?" Zuko said suddenly and Rinzen glanced down, grimacing at the charred, blistered mess of skin there and reminded suddenly of the searing pain in her shoulder.
"Oh. Azula grazed me with another lightning bolt. I'm okay."
"I should really heal that," Katara said worriedly, looking up from where her hands were pressed to Zuko's wound, but Rinzen waved it off.
"I'm fine, really. He's way worse off than I am." Zuko narrowed his eyes at her, but she raised an eyebrow pointedly back at him. "Look, if you're capable of standing of your own volition and proving me wrong, be my guest."
"Don't you dare," Katara threatened when Zuko frowned contemplatively, as if considering pushing himself out of bed, and he grudgingly settled down again. "I'll heal her later, don't worry," she reassured him under her breath and Rinzen rolled her eyes when he relaxed at that.
She took a post at the window, peering out at the courtyard for any sign of Aang and the others as Sozin's Comet disappeared over the horizon at last, leaving the sky no longer rust-colored, but rather an inky black dotted with stars as night fell over them.
"Anything?" Katara asked after several minutes and Rinzen tore her eyes from the window to find Zuko fast asleep, a fresh bandage wrapped around his chest to cover the wound, and Katara frowning back at her as she capped her waterskin.
"No, not yet. How is he?"
"Healing, which is about as much as we can expect, considering the extent of the damage," Katara sighed as she closed the space between them and drew out a stream of water to press it against Rinzen's injured shoulder. She hissed slightly at the sudden jolt of agony, but then it abated as the cool healing effect of the water soaked into her shoulder, absorbing the pain as her skin began to knit itself slowly back together. "Sorry, I should've gotten to this the moment I saw it," Katara apologized, but Rinzen shook her head.
"It's not that bad," she reassured the waterbender. "He was hurt much worse." She glanced down at her shoulder, finding the wound almost entirely gone and instead the skin darkened to a deep red where the burn had once been. "I think it's all healed," she offered.
"Well, it'll definitely scar, but yeah, it's healed." Katara pulled her hands away and got to her feet. "I'm going to wait out front with Appa for Aang and the others, if you want to stay here with Zuko."
Rinzen felt a twinge of relief, nodding gratefully. "Yeah, I'll stay here. Come get me when they arrive?"
"I will." Katara gave her a small, tired smile. "This war's almost over, Rin."
"I hope so." Rinzen moved across the room to take a seat on the edge of the bed as Katara slipped out quietly. It was finally quiet enough that she found the tension leaking out of her shoulders and the ache of every muscle in her body began to sink in. She tilted her head back against the headboard of the bed, shutting her eyes as the day's events threatened to overwhelm her, and felt Zuko's hand knock against her knee lightly. Startled, she opened her eyes and looked down to find him peering up at her sleepily.
"Hey."
"Hi." She managed a small smile. "Thought you were asleep."
"I was for a minute." He stifled a yawn before shuffling aside slowly and then patting the newly-open spot beside himself. After a moment's hesitation, Rinzen shifted to lay down beside him, nestling her head against his shoulder and careful not to touch the bandages on his chest. He lifted one hand to brush it against her shoulder, his fingertips tracing the shape of the burn scar on her shoulder. "Does it hurt?"
"No, I'm okay. Got the Dr. Katara seal of approval." She ducked her head just enough to press a kiss to his shoulder and he relaxed slightly. "How're you doing?"
"Fine," he answered, a hint of stubbornness in his voice.
"I'd pinch you for lying, but that'd probably just hurt you more, so I'm going to settle for glaring at you until you tell me the truth." Rinzen tilted her head back to narrow her eyes at him and he lasted all of two seconds before caving in.
"Okay, fine, it hurts a little. I'll get some sleep soon, promise, just…" He reached up to brush his fingers through her hair slightly. "You said you loved me." He cracked a smile even as she rolled her eyes.
"If we're stating the obvious, then you said it first."
"I also told you that you didn't have to say it back," he reminded her, tilting his head just enough to brush a kiss against her forehead.
"Well, seeing you almost die made me feel like saying it back, okay?" She hid her face into his shoulder to avoid seeing the expression on his face.
"Rin-" he began softly after a long pause.
"Don't tell me you're okay, I know you are," she mumbled against his shoulder, cutting him off. "Just - it's not like I only said it because you almost died, I've had my feelings for you figured out for a while now. But it took me thirteen years and thinking my brother was dead to tell him I loved him. At least it only took me a few months and thinking you were dead to tell you."
She heard him snort with amusement quietly above her. "Yeah, okay, I guess that's an improvement." He pressed a kiss into her hair. "So, talking things out. That's a thing we should probably try now on, okay?"
"Sounds like a plan." She tilted her head up slightly to catch him looking back down at her, his expression soft and fond, and couldn't stop herself from smiling as she leaned up to steal a brief kiss from him. "Now go to sleep before I knock you out."
"You can't keep threatening me like this, I'm the Fire Lord now," he reminded her as he obediently lay back, shutting his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, and I bet sharing a bed with the Fire Lord is considered scandalous, too," she deadpanned as she ducked her head to press another kiss to his collarbone, just above where the bandages ended.
He huffed a chuckle, not bothering to open his eyes. "Guess you'll just have to marry me to make it less scandalous, then."
"I'll think about it," she retorted, stifling a smile into his shoulder. Within moments, he was fast asleep, and she soon gave in to exhaustion as well, curled into his side as she dozed off, hoping to wake up to a world at peace at last.
Happy New Year! I stayed up until 3 AM writing this, but it was so worth it. I've got only one more chapter to go in this story, but I'm going to try and put it up with the first chapter of the sequel so that they're both available at the same time.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter!