Author's Note: Ello World ! I'm trying to stay on track with my writing…Anyways. I have no idea where this chapter will be heading. I will be completely honest, I am about to just sit down and write blindly.

Let the creative juices flow!

Disclaimer: I do not and never will own Avatar.


Chapter 18: Never saying Sorry.


Zuko didn't know what was going on in his mind at the moment. All he knew was that he was in a race against time. He was panicking, something that was unlike him. No matter how hard he trained to be calm, his blood couldn't rest. He could feel fire surging through his veins as the horse he was on was trying to overcome every bump and hurdle thrown at it.

Nyla and June was a little bit away from him, however, he could still see the ugly beast from where he was. It seemed as though they were still in Fire Country, however, with all the trees surrounding them, he wasn't sure what part of the country they were in.

"I need to stay calm," The fire bender thought as he looked up at the sky.

He knew he had to keep calm. He knew he had to be rational. Iroh had taught him from the day he could bend that firebenders had to stay calm or else their powers would be dangerous to everyone. He could feel his hands grip at the rope that controlled his horse and quickly shook his head.

"Keeping up back there?" June yelled as she asked if he wanted Nyla to slow down.

"Don't! I want to get there as quickly as possible... I'll keep up, just do your part!"

June clicked her tongue as she remained focused on the road ahead of them. She surveyed their surroundings as her hunter instinct began to kick in.

"Something's off…" She thought as she looked around.

As soon as her head turned to the right, an arrow shot from the sky and barely missed her face. Nyla stopped in its track as the delay causes Zuko to reach them.

"Why did you stop?!" He yelled.

June rolled her eyes and pointed toward the arrow that was launched in the tree trunk.

"I didn't sign up to be shot at," June stated with her arms crossed, "I was hired as a locator."

"Than locate!"

"Is this girl worth this trouble?!"

"YES SHE IS"

Zuko was getting frustrated as him and June stood on high alert. Whoever shot the arrow was obviously watching them from afar. The hunter looked at the angle that the arrow fell.

"Whoever shot that is skilled… 30 feet east of this location," She thought to herself as she looked from the corner of her eye.

She could sense Zuko's anger coming from behind her as both of them stood back to back.

"Listen, why is it so important?"

"Why is what so important?"

"Your girlfriend."

"What kind of stupid question is that," Zuko spit out.

"You're going to realize," June said as she eyed the trees dangerously, "That the more close you get to someone… the more you will open your heart to pain. Are you willing to go that far?"

The Fire Lord looked at the woman in front of her and growled. It wasn't like he didn't understand where she was coming from, but he hated people questioning what he was doing. He just wanted Katara to be safe and the longer they stop, the more danger she'll face.

He wouldn't lie, however, ever since him and Katara dated, he was more open to these situations. He felt more than he did before. He wasn't an empty shell or a one face man. Instead, he knew how to be happy and he knew how to be stress. He knew how his heart could beat when Katara was a little bit late and he knew how his breathing would stop whenever he saw her enter the room. Running to action use to be a tedious task for him, but this felt normal. Wanting to protect someone he loved… felt normal.

"June," Zuko said as his eyes down cast to the ground, "I need to save Katara… I know what you are trying to say, but whatever your reason may be, I don't care. Can you just call Nyla to continue?"

"I can't do that if someone is targeting us," She growled.

"Look," He snarled, "You have a master fire bender… do you think an archer is going to stop me?"

"He will when the bender is emotionally unstable," She replied.

"What is wrong with caring about someone?" Zuko snapped, "Why is it so wrong to want to save someone I love? Did you have a bad past? Did someone break your heart?!"

"There's nothing wrong," June answered coldly, "I never said there was anything wrong. I just said you should be aware of the pain that will come with it. I'm not one to sugar coat anything like your servants or your people may be. I can care less if you guys get married or divoriced, but as a person who have served you in the past… do not come looking for me if she ever runs away from you."

Zuko looked at the hunter, their current situation slipping from his mind as he didn't know what to do anymore.

"It's a miracle when someone falls in love... and it's a bigger miracle when they fall in love at the same time. This girl- this completely beautiful and normal girl who is an amazing bender fell in love with me- ME! Someone who has been messed up and abandoned for most of his life. I may need her more than she needs me… but I know one thing is for sure," He said as he looked June in the key, "I need to protect her… I need to get to her before it's too late. We may fight and we may get into arguments, but I would never leave her and if she left me I would find her myself no matter what."

June looked at the fire lord who was obviously at the end of his rope.

"I can't argue with you," She said softly as she looked at the fire bender's face.

June could hear the other group approaching as she realized how much time has passed since they had just been standing there. For her, locating people was easy, she spend her entire life finding her prey. Her eyes moved from the young man to her faithful companion and she sighed.

"This is why traveling with people is a hassle…" she whispered.

Zuko looked at her, but before she could continue she blew for Nyla who sweep Zuko onto its back. Shocked by the sudden action, the fire bender stumbled at first before gripping onto the muzzle. Nyla let out a loud growl that shook the entire surrondings.

"What are you…?"

"I said I can't go since someone is targeting us, but if someone is just targeting me, you can still go."

The fire master looked at her with questioning eyes before he heard her let out a louder sigh.

"My senses are stronger than yours even though your combat skills are greater. The shooter is 35 feet away from us in the middle of the tree. Just go- Nyla will lead you to your little girlfriend and your groupies are already 15 feet away from us, they can catch up. I'll… point them toward your direction."

"Are you going to-"

"Are you really hesitating?" June questioned as she signaled for Nyla to go with a small pet on her back, "Give me back my baby in one piece!" She hissed as she watched Nyla take off once more.

As soon as Zuko took off, another arrow shot in their direction. June saw it the moment the object launched and let out a small laugh. She threw a small dagger toward the arrow which caused it to come crashing down to earth once more.

"Listen!" She screamed, "I am a skilled hunter and have been for many years… your small, puny, inexperience actions are no use for my specialities. You have three seconds to come out or else."

One

Iroh group ran past June as she stood in the middle of the road, her head down as she touched her pocket lightly. She moved her left arm and pointed toward the small road that Zuko had flown down previously. He gave her a nod, not questioning what she was doing, but sensing the danger that was erupting from her.

two

the only noise that was heard was the faint swish of the arrows as they flew through the sky, each one targeting another group member, but losing momentum as June took everyone down. She was small and rather fought in her journey, but she knew how to defend herself and she knew how to be evasive. A small arrowmen was not going to get the best of her.

Three.

As the men disappeared into the distant, June took out a silver dagger and hurled it with all her might. As her hand dropped to her side she saw a figure fall from the tree, wiggling in pain as their leg got catch with the knife.

The hunter walked next to him, her movement slow as she heard no other movement from the forest. She was amused that there was only one attacker, but insulted that they underminded her abilities to defeat them.

"My little hunter…." She whispered, "You are going to give me some information or I am going to kill you."

She sat down next to the injured teen as their eyes shut closed with pain. She wanted to know the full story of what was going on and knew that the fire nation's hot headed king would never be patient enough to figure it out on his own. As the bowman began to talk, June listened intensly as though every detail was a gold coin in her pocket.


Meanwhile on the hunt;

Zuko continued to grip tightly onto Nyla as they rode through the forest. The speed was incredibly different from the horses in the fire nation. He dind't know how June could keep up with this beast, but he knew that he was not going to lose to a girl. The fire bender had to focus all his thought into not falling off, but found it difficult as he prayed to get to Katara sooner. He tok a deep breathe in.

"Nothing will happen if I keep worrying…" He thought to himself as he thought about his Uncle and his repeating words:

"You can lose your temper in a split moment, but it takes a stronger man to keep his cool my nephew"

"Come on, Nyla…" Zuko whispered, "Please make it in time…"

He could see Iroh in the front of the group as Tai lead the middle of the pack. The both of them were experienced fighters and Zuko knew that they would be able to follow their trails without him slowing down to show them the way. Then again, even if they couldn't keep up, he wasn't going to slow down.

He saw the older bender lift his hand up and wave to him, a simple signal that told him everything was going to be okay. In the midst of this entire ordeal, Zuko learned to appreciate the person who was always the father figure in his life. He was trying his best to keep Zuko calm and regardless of the horrible temper the Fire Lord had, he wanted to try his best to make Iroh proud of him.

"I'm counting on you, Uncle," He yelled as he speed ahead of the group.

The two generals left behind looked at one another an without saying anything, they gave each other a small nod before giving orders out to the man.

"We're going to bring home our princess."

The entire room was dark, the only sound that came from the silence was the soft breathing that came from the water master and her attacker. Her heart was beating rapidly, something that rarely happened. She was always dependent on her water bender and it wasn't until now that she realized she needed more. She couldn't bend. She was helpless. She should have asked Zuko to teach her hand to hand combat, but she was cocky. She knew as long as she could move her hands, she could bend the world… why learn to fight?

"Fuck.." She cursed under her breathe.

She could see Jet smiled at her, but the small movement was neither happy nor assuring. It was like a wild animal about to eat its main course after starving for a week. It was disgusting.

"Jet…" Katara whispered as she moved back slowly, " People can change… you don't have to do this."

"You're still talking about change, Katara?" Jet said, "Then how about you show me how much you changed."

Katara could hear the intention in Jet's voice and she shivered at the thought of what might happen to her. Jet was stronger than her at this only hope she had was kicking him in the balls, but thats only if he gave her the chance too.

"Zuko…" She kept repeating in her heart as she hoped they had some sort of connection toward one another, "Please come…"

She knew it was silly to think that he could hear her, but somehow she felt like he could. She felt like he could feel how panic he was at the moment, but then again it might be her own mind that was going crazy.

"How… how did it get like this, Jet?" The water bender asked as she tried to sympathize with the man.

"You know how, Katara," Jet whispered as his voice flashed with a hint of his former self.

Katara caught this. She heard the old Jet, the passionate Jet that she thought only wanted to help people. She knew that Jet was a stupid teenager who lost his way, but he was no rapist or tyrant. She had to keep pushing this, she had to keep trying. .

"People's heart can change. They can be cold and then become kind. They can be upset and then be filled with gratefulness… They can resent and then understand, hate and then love, Jet. It's part of being human and growing up- we're grown up now! We have the ability to change…"

"You don't understand, Katara," Jet growled as he stopped, "You live in a world where everything went right all the time. You went on a journey on a whim. You survived on pure luck and you became a national hero. Me? I never had that luxury. I didn't have any family to make sure I was okay. I didn't have anyone to depend on me. Then, you dropped into our village and I could see the hearts in your eyes… it made me feel happy. Someone still wanted a person like me- who sinned and killed to survive. Yet, you betrayed me. You betrayed me and now you've betrayed me again."

"I didn't betray you, Jet!" Katara screamed, "You lied to me to get me to kill people! Innocent people!"

"They were only innocent in your eyes, but to the family they victimized they were guilty as charged."

Jet walked up to bender and kneeled down. His eyes stared into hers as though he was trying to look for something.

"Why… why are you doing something so cruel?"

"Because… if something horrible happens to the fire nation, it'll be a national tragedy. It'll make my miserable life… seem less miserable in comparison." Jet answered as he pushed Katara down.

"But your life doesn't have to be miserable… you have people who care about you- what about those teenagers from before? They respect you, Jet."

"They only want to do what benefits them. All of them… they don't like me, they simply like the idea of me getting revenge for them. All of them are weak. They would have never survived on their own. They only stay because I taught them how to hunt and toned their skills. It was nothing innocent… just a beneficial relationship."

"Beneficial… relationship?" Katara whispered.

"I needed their help to attack the FIre Nation and they needed purpose."

"So you abused them?"

"I gave them a dream!"

"You gave them a nightmare!" The water bender snapped, "You manipulated their thoughts and destroyed any chance of them to have a beautiful, normal dream…"

Jet looked at Katara and smiled, "You didn't change one bit. You're still all about helping people around you… It was something I found cute about you, Katara."

He got on top of her, his weight holding her still as her eyes widened by the sudden movement.

"If you do something," Katara said as her voice shook, "You'll end up regretting it!"

"Regret," The bandit whispered as he pushed her arms over her head, "Is only for those who have a future. I'm already a dead man."


"Nyla… How much longer?" Zuko asked as he had forgotten that Nyla was just a beast and he was simply following her.

He was growing impatient and nervous and was starting to talk to a dog! Too much time had already passed and they were x amount of time away from saving Katara. He had been telling himself to stay calm this entire time, but even his temper had limits and its threshold was about to shatter.

"If I knew that things were going to be like this, " Zuko thought, " I would have spend more time with her… I would have said ' Good morning ' to her every day and kissed her goodnight before she fell asleep. I would have gone into town with her and held her hand so no one would mistaken her as single. I would have made her breakfast occasionally and pretend to get angry when she made fun of my cooking.. I would have saw her more… not just an hour or two during the day, but for as long as I could until I had gotten in trouble. There's so much I still need to do with her…"

Zuko's vision was beginning to blur as his mind was sinking into depression. He was losing it and he knew that he was losing it. He was already beginning to give up on the idea that she was safe and was already going into a stage of blame toward himself.

"For me, it's more important that you are healthy and happy," Katara said as she smiled at him in bed, "Even if we only get one or two minutes together before falling asleep… this is enough."

Snippets and clips of their previous nights keep flashing inside his mind as he tried to throw away the thought of Katara being hurt.

"I'm going to protect you," Zuko said confidently as they prepared to walk to the Fire Counsel, "Just make sure you don't make me look stupid."

"You already make yourself look stupid," The water bender laughed as she stopped in front of a large metal door.

The fire bender pretended that he didn't hear the comment and instead took Katara's hand. He laced his fingers with in hers as he looked at her with a small smile, "Just be yourself… anything else and I'll protect you regardless."

"That's right," He thought to himself, "I promised…"

Zuko was not the kind of person who fell apart. He had to remain strong and ever cried if he could help it. He never let himself falter in the eyes of others, but here he was on the verge of tears. How long has it been since he had wanted to break down and cry?

"I'm acting like a fucking baby crying over something that hasn't happened yet," He growled as he regained his composure, "If I don't believe… who's going to believe for us?"

As soon as his senses cleared Nyla stopped in an opening. Zuko looked around and saw nothing in front of them. Before he could say anything, Nyla lift her nose to air and sniffed around. Her movements were slow, but as she reached the west end of the opening, she stopped and took off once again. The speed was quicker as Zuko held on for his life, but as his hands grew white from grabbing the rope tightly, he could sense them getting closer to Katara.

"Wait for me, Katara." He growled

-xxx-

The other men wasn't far behind as they continued to try to catch up to the Fire Lord. As they reached the opening they were just in, Iroh looked around and suddenly recognized the place they were in. It was a small area outside the fire nation, but a small group of people would occasionally go camping in the area. If he was correct,

"We shouldn't be too far,: he mumbled as he continued to lead the group toward Zuko.

Nyla stopped, the both of them slowing down at a headquarter as Zuko saw various people walking around. Toward the center of the camp he saw a small towered house.

"That must be it…" He said as he quieted Nyla down.

The Fire bender prepared himself. He may be outnumber, but, judging by their appearance, he knew they were no warriors. However, he didn't know what skilled they had and therefore had to be cautious. He had no time to wait for Iroh and Tai, instead, he left Nyla outside to indicate to the others that he had gone in.

It was reckless and inconsiderate. Maybe they had bombs, or worst, maybe they were master benders. Yet, he couldn't just sit back now that he found the place.

Working quickly, Zuko used his skills to climb the tree above the camp, he skillfully bypassed the first security group and had hope that it would be as easy in the tower than it was outside. His feet gently landed on the deck of the middle floor as he threw himself across the wall. Making little to no movement, he rolled through the window and survey his surroundings.

"No one's here…" he thought as he got on his feet, "What kind of stupid bandit group is this?"

The fire lord wasted no time. He got on his feet and made his way down the tower. If there were no sound coming from the top, the best bet is to say that prisoners were held underground where darkness was their only friend. He shivered at the thought of Katara being in a dark, damp place.

"I'm going to kill whoever I see down there…" he growled.

The sound of water came dripping through the room as though it was mocking Katara. She looked around and tried to avoid the stares of the bandit. Jet remained on top of her, eyeing her like she was a piece of meat and he was going to eat every single morsel of it.

"You have changed from the last time we saw each other…"

"Jet," She said quietly, "You don't have to…"

"Your hair grew longer," He whispered in a sick tone, "and your figure had mature from a cuter frame to an adult woman."

"I hope you remember I'm a master bender…"

"Who's currently unable to bend."

"Fuck," She thought, "I thought he forgot…"

Jet continued to stare down at the girl. It was as though he was trying to see what he wanted to do with her first. He smiled and his hand began to slide up and down her cheek, caressing her face as Katara spit on him and looked away. He growled.

"Do you think you should be misbehaving?" he asked in a low tone.

"I would rather die than go down without a fight!" The water bender commented.

"Well… That's fine with me because I love when people struggle. Yet, what should I do to you, Katara?"

The water master opened her mouth, air escaping as she couldn't find the right words to say to the bandit in front of her. Instead, she just looked away, her body defeated as she could hear the muffled laughter that came from Jet's leaned forward, his tongue sliding across her cheek as she let out a small groan of disgust.

"You can just pretend I'm your pretty little boyfriend…"

"you… Will never be anything like Zuko," Katara growled.

For a moment Jet pulled back. He didn't know whether or not he was upset or angry by the fact that the girl was rejecting him, however, he knew that he did not like being compared to a fire bender.

"What is so great about this guy? Is his dick that big? Does he make you scream his name in bed at night?" Jet continued to pester Katara, his hand beginning to move themselves from her face to her chest.

She could feel him grab her breast as he squeezed the mounds of flesh. It was wrong. It didn't feel the same way it felt when Zuko touched her, instead, it made her want to be sick. She tried to kick her leg up, but because Jet was much bigger than her, he sat down on her knees, his body being a personal weight as he continued to knead her body.

"He.. He would never force himself on-" Katara let out as she began to tremble.

She cursed herself for being weak at a moment like this. She faced pirates and villains, death and blood… yet in the face of being raped she was going to be a coward? She felt Jet's hand slide inside her robe, his hands fondling her roughly as she tried to desperately push him off.

"I'm going to show you what a real man feels like," He said in a sick tone of voice.

"It doesn't matter what you do to me, Zuko will still love me!"

"How can you be so sure?" The bandit asked as he stopped his movement.

His eyes were filled with hate has he stared at the girl in front of him.

"You," he spit out, "Are annoying. You go on about the idea of hope and unity, but you missed the big picture. You sit in a big place where you are worshipped, but you forget about people like me- about people like you… or rather who you use to be. Those teenagers you saw outside? All of them had their lives ruined by the fire nation. You want to go out there and tell them to forgive the people who took their family away? Or should I invite them in here to have their ways with you too…"

"I never missed the big picture," Katara snarled as she took the chance to kick Jet in the nuts, "You missed the big picture ! You let your heart become consumed by the idea of hate and lived with it your entire life. You feed your mind some sick idea that what you are doing is good, but how are you any different from the fire nation that killed your mother?"

Jet winced in pain as he remained planted on the ground, "You are going to pay…."

"How can you talk about killing people and soldiers just because… because they're fire benders? Those people have lives! They have family and children- are you going to do to them what they did to you?"

For a moment Katara thought she saw a part of Jet's eyes soften. She thought that he was really beginning to think about her comments, however, as time passed she saw him get up on his feet. He had regained his composure and was now staring at her with both anger and hate.

"If those people abandoned their children, they should take it as a punishment. When they die they can watch from afar what their actions did to their family. They can-"

"So you're not going to change?" She yelled.

Jet grabbed Katara and picked her up, his force slamming her against the cellar walls as she let out a small scream, "I think it's time for you to shut the fuck up."

His lips crashed onto hers as she tried to push him away, but the more she struggled, the more the cuffs on her arms weighed her down. She was having trouble standing up, she was feeling sick and disgusted. She felt Jet's hand tear at her robe as they removed the top of the fabric, her chest now exposed as she thanked god that they were wrapped for training.

The bandit's lips moved from her mouth to her neck as he kissed and bit at the surface of the soft flesh. He used his free hand to cover her mouth as he tried to muffle her screams.

"Be a good girl, Katara," he said, "we don't want anyone else to join the party."

He picked her up, her weight easy for him to manage as he grind his dick into the fabric of her panties, his cock hardening by the warmth of her pussy.

"You know… if you had just kept falling in love with me when we were younger, we could have fucked every day I would have treated you right and you would have been my queen instead.."

"Like hell I would sleep with someone like you," Katara screamed as she felt herself holding back any noise that would satisfy the man in front of her.

Jet growled and placed Katara down, the cuffs causing her to lose her balance as he hovered over here. He placed his palm on her lips as he took his right hand and thrust a finger into her core. She winced, her mouth letting a scream out that had no pleasure in it, but rather pain.

Zuko was always gentle when it came to these things. He wanted her to enjoy it and made sure she was always ready for anything he did, yet, Jet was completely different. He was trying to devour her whether she liked it or not.

"Jet- Jet stop.. Stop,"

The water bender was beginning her assailant to stop, but no matter what she said, Jet continued to move his finger in and out of her, his face frozen into a sick smile as he encouraged her to continue moaning.

She growled and shut her mouth. She wasn't moaning for god sake, she was trying to get him to get the fuck off her. Yet, as her mind traveled away, she failed to noticed that jet was beginning to take off his own pants, his dick hard from the anticipation.

"This is it," She thought as her eyes shut, "I'm not going to see Zuko. I'm going to be violated… the kingdom will fall down because of me…"

As she prepared herself for what was about to happen, she closed her eyes, tears falling down her cheek as she waited. She thought about all the fun times she had at the kingdom and how scared she was when she left home. She wasn't going to see her Gran Gran or her dad after this. She wouldn't see Sokka and his growing family or know how Aang and Toph's relationship would developed. She was at her wits ends.

"I'm sorry, Zuko," She whispered as she waited for the inevitable.

However, as Katara's eyes shut closed, she noticed nothing happened. Scared, she opened the eyes slowly, expecting to see Jet smirking at her once more. To her surprise, she saw someone's back. Not a back of a bandit, but the fit back of a bender. It was pale and muscular with scars of labor plastered over it, but still beautiful. Most importantly, however, she saw the faint insignia of a flame sewn into their arm band and as her heart stopped she let out a soft breathe.

"Z.. Zuko?"

"I'm sorry," He said in a low tone, "That I'm late, Katara."

Zuko turned his head slightly to look at the bender, but before he could even bend down to comfort her, he directed his glare toward Jet. The bandit was on the floor, as he flew from the other side with Zuko's kick. He was getting up, his face angered as he pulled his pants up quickly.

"Prince Zuko...Or should I say Fire Lord Zuko."

"You think you can just touch what is mines?" The Fire bender growled.

"Aren't we possessive…that's a bad quality in a man."

"I Am going to kill you and I am going to enjoy it,"

"Don't bother,: Jet mentioned, "With a blow of this charm, my men will come in and you will be outnumbered."

"You mean those stupid teenager?" Zuko snarled, "'I'm sure by now they are getting a mouth ful of hurt from my Uncle and my men."

Jet didn't falter. Instead, he prepared himself for a fight. Zuko took off his t-shirt, his bare chest exposed as hours of training resulted in hard muscle around his body. He gave it to Katara, his smile sweet for her as he picked her up and placed her against the wall.

"I'm coming back for you," He said softly.

The water bender sighed a breath of relief, "I knew you would come."

"Then never say sorry…" He whispered quietly.

A moment didn't passed before a knife came flying toward the two bender, yet, as Zuko sensed the small object coming, he quickly turned around and waved his hand, a small wall of fire stopping the blade before it pierced his skin.

"Do you think an amateur fighter can go up against me?"

Jet snarled and ran up to Zuko who had gotten up on his feet. The two of them were skilled in combat, yet, Katara couldn't recall how good Jet use to be. TIme was a scary thing for anything and for all she knew, Jet could have gotten stronger.

Zuko grabbed the boy and threw him over his shoulder, a loud thump coming from the room as Jet quickly got up on his feet. He didn't stop for a moment as he threw a low kick to the ground that caused the fire master to trip momentarily.

"You know, your fiance was getting nice and wet before you came," Jet smirked as he could see the steam come from Zuko's hands, "Maybe you should fuck her more often."

Zuko had wanted a fair fight. He didn't want to use his bending on someone who only had blades, but as he heard those words escape from Jet's lips he couldn't control himself. All he saw was red. No longer than a second passed that he threw a ball of fire toward Jet, the ball crashing against his chest as it hit his heart.

"J-" Katara began to say as she saw the man fling across the room, his back hitting the wall before he laid their limp.

"Do you think… this hurt?"

Zuko looked at the man before him who was trying to get up. He saw how much Jet was trying to fight the burns that were eating at his flesh and decided not to attack at that moment.

"Do you think this is the worst pain I ever felt before?" Jet continued.

"If you were a smart man, you would take the fire as a blessing that I do not kill you where you lay."

"GO AHEAD," He screamed, "You already killed everything that was important to me to begin with!"

The Fire lord looked at the bandit and for a moment was trying to be sympathetic toward him. He wanted to understand Jet, but didn't even know who he was. The only one that could was Katara.

"Jet…" The water bender said as she stepped next to Zuko, "It's over."

"It's… not… over…." Jet growled as the small chat had caused him to cough out small amounts of blood.

"I'm not going to dirty my hands on the likes of you," Zuko said as he looked at his bride, "Did anything… happen?"

Katara shook her head as she looked at the ground, "I...nothing."

Jet watched in disgust at the two benders, "Right. Now you guys have everything. Love, money, power…"

"Take it as a blessing you can talk," Zuko mumbled as he picked up Katara to leave the small room, "Do not pursue this any longer. As you can see you aren't a match for me."

Jet heard the footsteps. He heard what the fire bender had said. Yet as his hands clutched to one another he screamed, his body moving by itself as he got on his feet and ran toward the two. Zuko swiftly placed Katara down as he turned. He moved his hands in a graceful manner, the slow motion causing a spark of light as a single lighten bolt ran its way from his finger to Jet's heart.

"I gave you a chance to live… and yet you still chose to die?"

"If I didn't fight until the end…" Jet mumbled, "I would have just lost everything I ever had… I would have done everything for nothing…"

" But why?" Katara asked as she dropped to her knees, "Why would you chose to die than to live?"

"Because… I have a heart. No matter what you had done… no matter where I would have went, I would have kept holding this hatred inside… I would have… I…"

Jet lips kept moving, but nothing came out. Soon, his breathing slowed and his body went limp, the last thing he ever did was stare at Katara with eyes that reminded her about the first night they met.

"Katara," Zuko said softly, "I had no choice… he was coming at-"

"I know," She said, "And I thank you for even coming here…"

"He didn't…"

"Just touched… and kissed," She let out quietly as she looked at the ground.

Zuko came up to her, his hands pulling her face up to look at him, "I don't care if he kissed you or touched you, it doesn't change how I feel about you."

He kissed her softly, his lips brushing against her as the kiss remained a slow passionate moment, "I'll erase everything he did…"

The fire bender paused as his mouth moved to Katara's neck. He bite the soft flesh in front of him as he replaced all of Jet's mark with his own.

"I don't want to do anything more here… Iroh is waiting for us with the others."

"Others?"

"money talks, Katara," he said softly, "When… when we get back home we can talk…"

"Yeah…" she said quietly as she felt herself get picked up once more.

She saw the look on Jet's face and for once it was peaceful. Almost as though everything was now lifted off his shoulder and he was merely sleeping.

"What about the others?"

"Uncle probably arrested them for traitority and Tai… Tai is probably with his little girl as we speak."

Katara couldn't help, but have her heart tugged. One moment she was fearing for her life and the next she was waiting to die. Now? Now she was in the arms of her fire lord as her face nuzzled his chest, his scent flowing into her mind as a tear dropped down her cheek. She wanted to keep talking to Zuko, she wanted to say more things, but as her hands were already sore from the cuffs, she found herself drifting off to sleep. Darkness came over her mind as the last thing she heard was,

"I'm sorry, Katara…"


x x x

Katara could smell the scent of cinnamon around her as she felt her entire body engulfed in a warm sensation. As her eyes fluttered open, she could see the small blur of red beside her as she looked up at the figure by her side.

Zuko was sleeping quietly next to her as his arms remained cross on his chest. She gazed at him, her lips forming a smile as she wondered how long he had been there with her. Her eyes looked around and saw that they were in their room.

"That's right.." She thought, "I was kidnapped…"

Her entire being shook as she remembered what had happened and what could have happened if Zuko hadn't saved her. Oddly, she didn't feel dirty at all. Instead, everywhere Jet had touched had been washed with Zuko's love, his emotions pouring into erasing the memories from her mind.

"Awake..?"

The soft voice that came from her caused her to focus on the Fire bender again, his eyes still closed as he let out a small sigh, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine…" Katara said softly, "I just… want to forget what happened."

"You're far better at this forgetting thing than firebenders are… maybe it's because you're a waterbender."

"What does bending water have to do with forgiving?" Katara asked.

"Water is more calm… they're more pure," Zuko mumbled as he opened his eyes, "Water isn't hot like fire is. People can touch them and feel warm from being near it."

"Fire can be comforting to…" Katara said immediately.

"But it's dangerous, if you get too close to it you'll get burned. No matter how warm it may be around it… sometimes it's better to stay away."

"What are you…"

"Maybe Jet's right, Katara," Zuko said softly as he looked down to peer into her eyes, "Maybe you shouldn't be with a Fire bender."

"But- we… that doesn't matter!" She cried out.

"Being with me can cause you a lot of pain both physically and mentally…"

Katara looked at the fire lord. His eyes weren't looking at her like they always had. Instead, they seemed defeated, almost as though the time she spend sleeping had thrown her into an alternate universe where Zuko had given up.

Her hands reach out to touch his face, but he quickly turned away. It seemed like he didn't want her to be near him, that the moment she got any closer, he would lose his composure and crumble.

"I think.. you're just overwhelmed by everything that had happened… maybe we should just take some time to-"

"Katara," he interrupted, "Who knows if you would have even fallen in love with me if we weren't forced to marry one another."

A small silence passed in the room as Zuko stepped off the bed. Not too long ago, the two of them were madly in love and now it seemed as though everything was falling apart for them. The water master didn't know what to say- or rather she didn't know what she could say. She just knew that she had to get Zuko away from this trail of thought.

Whenever Zuko had his mind on something, he would continue to hold onto it for dear life. When he thought that he could regain his honor by capturing Aang, he tracked him around the world for years. When he thought that the people would never accept his intentions, he became the blue spirit to save the community. Everything he had done… he held onto until the very last moment he was proven wrong.

"Please don't tell me you're going to hold onto the thought of breaking up…" She thought to herself.

"Isn't that right though, Tara? Before this… all we ever did was send one or two letters back and forth. We didn't talk to each other as much as we use to. We were never truly close during our travels together. Until the very last moment you didn't even like me all too much until we went on that raid together. After that… I did feel as though we were growing closer- but no matter how close we were, we drifted apart the moment we went back to our normal lives. Isn't it crazy to think that a fire bender and a water bender could fall in love? we're the exact opposite."

"Isn't that the saying though, Zuko?" Katara answered, "That opposite attracts?"

"They do attract, but attraction is different than love… and you never know how long it last."

"What we have isn't just attraction!" Katara yelled.

Zuko didn't look at her. Instead, he walked around the room in a small pace before looking at the door. He was internally debating what he was doing and to be honest, he didn't know what he was doing. He just knew that being around him, a firebender, a ruler, was dangerous for Katara and he didn't want to put her in more danger than she was in today.

"Katara…" He said quietly, "I'm not someone who is on everyone's nice list. People hate me… they will never accept change and until that is over they will come at me with everything they have."

"We can help each other," The water master replied, "I'm not a weak-"

"Weakness," Zuko interrupted, "There's only one thing that I have that they can use… and that is you."

He looked at her, his eyes looking right into her soul as she closed her mouth. She couldn't deny that she knew that already. She was constantly thinking about it as she was being held prisoner by Jet and even cursed the fact that it was true, yet, she wanted to say something to change Zuko's mind.

"I may be a weakness, but isn't that just a sign that what we have with one another is… real?" The water bender asked.

"I never denied my feelings for you, Katara." Zuko simply added.

"Zuko… I know we rushed into this marriage and maybe that is why we fell in love so quickly, but regardless of how and what happened- aren't your feelings real now?"

"I know they are," The fire bender said, "but this event made me realize that people hate fire benders, Katara. They hate me! I don't understand people, I can't connect to others… I don't expect people to accept us right away after everything my father had done, knowing this… I'm not stupid- this could happen again."

"Zuko…" Katara said softly, "what are you trying to say?"

"If we never met each other… maybe it would have been less painful for us. If we never got into this arrangement… this would have never happened. You wouldn't be hurt and I wouldn't be standing here trying to apologize to you. I know I can't say much to you at the moment. I know I can't make everything better. I know that you are hurt and there is nothing I can do about it. Why are we even here, Katara? This is suppose to be the beginning of all the wonderful new memories that we never got to experience before… why… why do I feel so sad?"

The water bender couldn't say anything. She didn't know what to say. Instead, she looked at the ground, her feet planted in the same spot she was in the entire conversation. She wanted to run to Zuko and hug him, to tell him that they were going to be okay, but at the rate this was going… were they going to be okay?

The two of them were suppose to be marry in 3 week. Nothing was supposed to happen like this.

"You feel sad… because you thought I was going to die, right?"

"Of course."

"Than it's not so bad," She commented quietly, "It's not that bad to know that someone cares so much that they are upset by the thought of losing them… isn't that what love is about? I may be hurt, but at the end of the day you came to get me, Zuko. I never lost hope that you would come save me. I never stopped calling your name… until the last moment," She said as she walked up to him.

She stared at him, her blue eyes glistening with tears as she tried to get some emotional response from the golden orbs in front of her.

"This entire thing has changed my life, but it's not the first life of death situation I've been in. Remember when we had to fight Azula? You saved me before too… you're always saving me. Moving to the fire nation," she said, "Living here, falling in love here… even if everything was going to change tomorrow and you told me you didn't love me anymore, you're still the one person I wouldn't want to leave me."

The fire lord stared at his fiance, a tear running down her cheek as he looked away for a moment. He hugged her, his nose smelling the familiar scent of cinnamon as he took his hand to wipe away the tears that had fallen.

"It's no far…" he whispered as his hug tightened around her, "Why do you always say the right thing t save me, Katara?"

"Because we're going to get married… I have to know what makes you happy," She said faintly.

"If.. if you had to chose again. If you knew that it was going to be me you were marrying- what would you have done…?"

Katara looked at the person in front of her, his eyes filled with concern as he waited for a reply. She smiled and without waiting a moment said, "No matter what I knew back then and now… I would still chose to come to the Fire Nation. I would still chose to marry you even if I knew it was you. I would gladly… most definitely.. chose to come."

The fire bender kissed the water master, their emotions pouring into the moment as everything that they felt was being washed away with that one kiss.

"Even if you're stupid I'll still like you. Even if your poor I'll still like you. For god sake, Zuko, you can be fat… and I will still love you."

The fire bender laugh, " I will never be fat."

"And there is that wonderful personality I love so much."

"One more thing," Zuko said as he pulled the water bender into a small hug, "Being in love with me… means never having to say you're sorry."

The two of them remained in the embrace for as long as they could. They didn't know how much time had passed, however, as the two of them drifted off into sleep they pray that this was the end of their problems.


Author Notes:
AND THAT IS ALL ! Sorry the ending is a tad rush. I chose to do this instead of studying for my exam so now- quick like a bunny… I'm going to study (: K hanks bye !

Coming soon to chapters near you!
The In Law Comes To Visit?