Despite the fact that they had Bumi with them, the battle raged on through the night and into the next day. It wasn't till later in the afternoon that they finally won. As they drove out the family who had refused to leave cooperatively, the husband (the governor) spat at Zuko and said "You are a disgrace to the Fire Nation and your father! You'll never be half the Firelord he was!" The man was then dragged away by the soldiers and Zuko sighed. He knew there would be problems, but he hadn't realized how badly most of the Fire Nation was against him.
"Don't listen to them, Zuko," said Katara gently.
"I don't care what they have to say," he said darkly. "I'm the Firelord now whether they like it or not and there's really nothing they can do about that."
"Exactly," said Sokka. "They're just a bunch of jerkfaces." Zuko smirked and watched as King Bumi took his throne again.
"Ah," he sighed as he sat into it. "It's good to be back. I shall declare a celebration tonight in honor of you guys to thank you for bringing this country out of the Fire Nation's clutches."
"It's good to see the Fire Nation is finally making some well needed changes," said the King's advisor and Zuko bowed his head in thanks.
"I'm going to retire now," he said, yawning involuntarily, knowing everyone else was just waiting to do the same. "But I will be at the celebration tonight." Bumi smiled and nodded. He summoned over one of his servants and ordered rooms to be prepared for each of them so they could get some well deserved sleep. Zuko almost collapsed before he even reached the bed, but as he sank into the mattress a word escaped his lips before he fell asleep. A name he'd done nothing but think about since the last time he'd seen it's owner. "Jin"
----
The next morning Jin awoke to the great aroma of her mother cooking breakfast. She got up, quickly dressing herself -tucking Zuko's shirt with care into the back of the dresser drawer- and hurried in. "G'morning," she muttered, yawning.
"Hello, Jin," said her mother. She turned and looked at her with a small smile. "Are you hungry?" Jin nodded and sat down as her mother served her.
"Mom... about last night..." she said softly.
"What's done is done, Jin," her mother interrupted, her back facing her. "I tried for so long after you left to understand why you would do it. And now it all makes sense." She sat down across from her. "You were always a very hardheaded daughter, sticking up for what you believed was right. And as soon as you were able to find a way to fight against the Fire Nation... I'm not entirely surprised you took hold of that chance." Jin knew this wasn't entirely the truth but went with it anyway.
"I didn't mean to hurt anybody, Mom," she said softly. "Least of all you." Her mother sighed.
"Jin, I was so afraid for you. But now... now that I know that's the truth. I'm proud of you." She was smiling genuinely at her and Jin smiled back.
Something large fluttered past the window and Jin narrowed her eyes. It looked like a large bird of some sort. Sudden realization hit had and she jumped up from the table. "I'll be right back!" she said, and hurried to her bedroom, eager to see what letter was waiting for her this time.
----
There was an hour and a half to go before the banquet, and Zuko seated himself in his room, unable to get anymore sleep, though his body really needed it, and he meditated, trying to get his mind to ease up a little. Thoughts of Jin had been overwhelming him along with mixed feelings. He missed her more than anything, he was worried for her now that the Dai Li were on the loose and the young women were going missing, and he was excited to get to her again and marry her. Though there were many negative emotions going through him, the feeling of love was far stronger, and seemed to balance everything out. Still, it was all coming in a little too intense, and all he wanted now was a little peace of mind.
He breathed in, gathering up all the troubles in his mind, and breathed out,
letting them all pass.
Behind him the door opened and he could feel Aang's eyes fall on him. "Oh," said the boy, taking a step back. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to bother you..." Zuko turned his head and offered a small smile.
"It's okay," he said. "What is it?"
"Nothing," said Aang, scratching the back of his head. "Everyone's either sleeping or busy, and there's no one to hang out with, so... I thought we could hang out...?" Zuko wasn't quite sure how to answer, and Aang shrugged. "But if you're busy..."
"I'm not," he said standing up. "What did you have in mind"
----
"The delivery system?" Zuko stared at the slide and an empty stone carrier came to a stop in front of them and Aang turned to him with a mischeivous smile. "I don't get it," said Zuko.
"You gotta think outside the box..." said Aang as he hopped inside. "Besides, it moves faster with two people..." Zuko glanced at the drop and bit his lip.
"Looks kinda dangerous..."
"It's perfectly safe, I promise," encouraged Aang. "Come on! Please? It's a lot of fun." Zuko shrugged, knowing there really wasn't much else he had to do today, and got in behind Aang, who propelled it with a sudden burst of air. They went flying down the drop, and for a second, Zuko could almost feel himself lifting up and off where he was sitting, and he tightened his grip on the sides.
It was teriffying at first, but then a rush of adrenaline came over him, and all troubles pushed aside, he started laughing and encouraging Aang to go faster. Aang, of course, didn't need to be told twice, or at least didn't wait for it, and he shot them down even faster. They twisted and turned and even had some fun, blasting the carrier over to different tracks, laughing as they flew through the air from track to track. The fun, however, nearly ended badly.
Down below, an old man who noticed a coin laying on the ground, placed his cane across the carrier slide beside him, and the end caught in a small hole in the stone wall on the other side. As he bent down to pick up the coin, Aang and Zuko came crashing through with shouts as they spotted the cane, and they crashed right through it, making it break into many pieces. One of the larger ones wedged itself under the carrier, which then flipped over and launched both Zuko and Aang out of it. Aang conjured up a ball of wind and pointed it underneath himself, stopping his fall. Zuko, on the other hand, hit the ground before he could stop himself, and Aang gave a shout.
"Zuko! Are you okay?!" he cried. Zuko lay very still for a moment, and then rolled over laughing out loud.
"Oh yeah," he said sitting up, still laughing. "It's veeery safe!" Aang chuckled, relieved to see that he was all right and he shrugged.
"Well, by safe I meant that no one's gotten killed by it... yet."
"That sounds so much better," Zuko laughed and he shook his head. "How much time until the banquet?" Aang shrugged.
"About a half hour... maybe more?" he guessed.
"Then we'd better start walking back," he muttered. "Looks like we've got a ways to go." They headed towards the palace and Aang decided that Zuko would be the one he could confide in.
"Hey, Zuko... can I get some advice?" Zuko glanced at him, seeming a little surprised to be asked this. "Man to man I mean," Aang explained. "And I kinda want it to stay secret. I talked to Sokka about this once, but he couldn't help me... at all, and I was hoping that maybe you could." Zuko shrugged.
"Uh... okay?" he said. "What about?"
"Well... there's this girl-"
"It's Katara isn't it," Zuko cut in, and Aang turned bright red.
"How did you...?"
"Well, Suki's with Sokka, Jin and I are together, and Toph doesn't look like she'd be your type, so that leaves Katara," he said. "And I've seen you stare at her several times." Aang nodded, still looking a little embarassed.
"Yeah... anyway... I really like her... I mean I've liked her a lot for a long time, but I never really tell her cuz I'm afraid she doesn't feel the same."
"Well, have you tried telling her or dropped any hints?"
"No," said Aang, shaking his head. "Sokka said I should just pretend that I don't care around her." Zuko rolled his eyes.
"Okay, first of all, Sokka's an idiot," he said quickly. "Second, that's the opposite of what girls want. They want a guy who cares. It's one of those... girly... things. They're all about the emotions and stuff us guys don't do naturally."
"You seem to manage," pointed out Aang. Zuko snickered.
"That's only because Jin's a very patient person. She puts up with a lot from, me." Aang knew he couldn't argue with that, remember how impossible he'd been to deal with before. Part of him had a feeling that Jin had played a large role in his turn around, but he wasn't certain. "If you really like her then say something."
"What if she doesn't feel the same? Then what?" asked Aang.
"Then at least you know and you'll have tried. Besides, Katara seems like the understanding type. I have a feeling you'll be okay no matter how she feels." Aang nodded and sighed.
"I hope so," he said.
----
"Dear Jin,
Tonight's the night of the big battle. We have King Bumi now, and hopefully all will work well for us. I am hopeful, but I'll confess to only you that I am afraid. I feel better knowing you're safe in Ba Sing Se, but sometimes I get worried that something will happen and I won't make it back to you. I'm sorry, I shouldn't be saying things like this. The truth is, things have worked well so far, and having King Bumi will be of huge help to my army. The chances of failure are extremely small, so I'm not too worried. I'll be sure and write to you again when it's done, just to assure you that I'm okay.
Could you do me a favor? The hair tie has nearly lost your scent. With your reply, could you send me something of yours that I can use? Nothing big, preferably small enough to fit into an envelope. It would be of huge help to me. I miss you, but I know it won't be much longer until we're together. Take care of yourself, and be careful. I recieved word that the Dai Li are free, but it sounds like they've fled the city. Be on your guard anyway. If they remember who you are... just don't let them catch you. I know you can protect yourself though. Write to me again as soon as you can. Your letters and thoughts of you are the only things that help me get through some times. I love you so much, and I can't wait to see your pretty eyes again.
Take care.
Love, Lee."
Jin smiled, though feeling a little troubled by this letter, and she quickly wrote a reply. A part of her knew that Zuko would have gotten through the battle all right. It was the day after, and it should have been over by now. If he were dead she'd know it. He must've written it just before he went into battle, she thought. She wished now more than ever that she could have been there, but staying safe was more important now. She may not be there for him now, but she knew she would have to be there after. And then they'd be together forever. She looked down at her bracelet and smiled at it. She finished up her letter and sent it off with the great bird.
-
(A/N: I was in the middle of this when a GIANT bee landed on my keyboard and scared the crud out of me! I hate bees! Well, R&R!)