"Zuko?" Katara felt as though the wind had been knocked out of her lungs. She reached for him with trembling fingers, needing to know that he was real, not a spirit or some feverish delusion. The flask hung forgotten in her other hand. "Is it really you?" She inhaled sharply as her fingertips found his cheek. It was warm, and solid. His tousled black hair tickled the back of her hand.

Zuko couldn't speak. He had a thousand things in his mind to tell her, but his tongue simply wouldn't budge. Thankfully, his arms didn't suffer from the same catalepsy. His hands found their way to the small of her back and compressed her body against his, securing her in his embrace. Katara's head leaned against his chest and curved beneath the hollow of his neck as though she'd been made to fit against him just like this. Thank you, Agni, he thought gratefully as his eyes blissfully closed.

Neither of them noticed as the last lingering patrons stumbled upstairs or out into the night, or as the kitchen boy blew out the table candles and headed back through the door to help wash dishes, leaving them in near darkness. The world around them had already faded from their perception.

Overwhelmed with emotion, Katara began to cry. She nuzzled into Zuko's tunic, gripping the fabric in her fingers as though he might vanish from her grasp. "I can't believe you're really here. We were on our way to find you -"

"We?" Zuko managed, drawing back slightly so he could see her face. It was framed by the thick black waves of her hair. His heart raced. Even in his memories and dreams, she hadn't been this beautiful.

Katara nodded, her blue eyes sparkling with tears. "Iroh is here, too. Zuko, we were so worried. Azula said you were dead. Mai told her the Dai Li killed you!"

"I'm sorry," he apologized, cursing himself for what he'd had to do. He should have known that Azula would use Mai's letter as a weapon against Iroh, and even Katara, disrupting their emotions to give her the advantage. It was exactly the type of foul card Azula had been known to play. "You're not the only one who was worried. I was on my to the South Pole to find you."

"You were?" Katara wondered aloud, realizing how close they'd come to missing each other entirely. "Why?"

"Don't you know?"

Katara's eyes flew up to meet his gaze, and found that the golden-brown flames of Zuko's eyes were intense and searching. She didn't know whether she was being pulled towards him or if he was moving closer. Either way, the result was the same.

Their lips met; a tender brush at first, building in intensity until it became a ravenous, burning kiss. Katara's flask dropped to the floor with a clatter. Her lips parted willingly as Zuko's tongue searched between them, greedily devouring. His hands gripped her back to hold her steady, a physical reassurance that he would not let her fall. Impassioned, they clung to one another, expressing without words the elation of their reunion.

Finally, Zuko drew back, giving them both a reprieve as they gasped for breath. Slowly, they became aware of their surroundings again; that they were alone, and that the dining room had gone dark, except for the lantern-light just beyond the entrance.

"You said Uncle Iroh was here," Zuko said roughly, still half in a daze. "I need to talk to him."

"He's upstairs in his room. He's probably asleep by now," Katara related, still panting a little. "Shouldn't we wait until morning to wake him?"

Zuko gave her a sidelong look that was reminiscent of Jet, who'd always had a lustful haze in his eyes. Katara blushed. She realized that her question must have sounded like an invitation. She timidly picked up the water flask she'd dropped in her fervor, and tucked a bushy lock of hair behind her ear.

"Yeah," Zuko finally replied. "Uncle travels really well for someone his age, but I'm sure he needs his rest. We should probably go to bed ourselves."

Katara's eyes were as wide as blue saucers.

"To sleep!" Zuko amended nervously. "I mean, you look exhausted, and I'm really tired myself. So, we should sleep."

Relieved, Katara let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "Right. Sleep." Tension hung heavy in the air between them. Still, her worries subsided when she saw a little flame emerge in Zuko's hand, and its light revealed an understanding smile on his face. His free hand interlocked with her fingers and together they climbed the staircase that led up to the landing.

They paused in front of his door. "This is me," he said softly. "Where are you?"

Katara bobbed her head to the right. "Next door. Iroh's in the room beside mine."

"All right. I'll see you in the morning," Zuko promised. "We have a lot to talk about."

"I know," Katara agreed. A long moment passed. They both knew that the idea of talking in the morning was mere pleasantry. The things that needed to be said between them couldn't be said with words.

"Good night," he murmured at last, squeezing her hand.

"Good night." She unlocked her room and went inside, sharing one last ardent look with him before disappearing behind the door.

Zuko exhaled heavily, leaning back against the wall with a slight thud as he extinguished the hand-flame and hid his face in his palms.

ooo LL ooo

Mai wiped the last of her makeup from her eyes and stared at herself in the mirror. A long, narrow face with thin lips, an angular chin and heavy-lidded eyes stared back at her beneath severe, straight-cut black bangs. She unpinned her hair and let it fall around her face with a sigh, not seeing how having her hair down made any improvement.

You look beautiful.

Tai Lan's dark, complimenting voice echoed in her mind, and Mai squinted her eyes shut and put her hands over her ears as if to shut his memory out. But it didn't work. She still saw the furrowed brows, narrowed eyes, aquiline nose, full mouth and square, scarred chin belonging to the senior Dai Li agent. His age was indeterminate, but she had a sneaking suspicion that however old he was, it was too old for him to be seeking her attentions.

Does he look at you like I'm looking at you now? Does he tell you how much he wants you?

A pang struck in the center of her chest as those words hit home. Zuko had been gone for weeks now and hadn't sent her any word indicating when he might return or whether he returned the feelings she'd declared so openly before he left. Wincing, she opened her eyes, hating her reflection more than ever. "No," she admitted to herself in a whisper. "He never has. I don't know what makes me hope he ever will. You're an idiot, Mai."

Though it was just past midnight, Ty Lee still hadn't returned. Mai honestly didn't expect her to. She'd spent too many of the last few nights waiting up on her giggly acrobat friend only for her to come in positively glowing, describing her dates with the handsome Dai Li agent Koji in such vivid detail that it was all Mai could do not to be nauseous. Apparently, Ty Lee hadn't grieved over the news of Azula's death any more than Mai had - unless her idea of grieving included making out in every fountain, park, garden and alley in the upper ring of Ba Sing Se.

Mai had never seen Ty Lee limit her interest in boys to one at a time. The fact that her single-minded fascination with him had gone on for over two months now was remarkable. At this rate, he'll be proposing to her in no time, Mai had thought the night before, and then where will I be? Alone. Totally, completely alone.

Mai finished brushing the thin, lengthy strands of her hair and sat quietly for a few more minutes with the brush in her hand, just thinking. She'd forgotten how much she depended on Ty Lee's animated, happy-go-lucky chatter to keep the quiet away at night. Only the crickets outside the window broke the immense silence.

An insane thought crossed her mind. Mai was sure it was only brought on by the stinging pain of rejection and the dull ache of loneliness, but the longer she thought about it, the more determined she became. Clenching her hands into fists, she stood, whirled her robe about her shoulders and headed for the door.

ooo LL ooo

"You miss her."

Aang stopped his half-hearted waterbending and looked dully over at Toph. The blind earthbender was sitting on an ice wall, swinging her feet back and forth. It still seemed weird to see her in shoes. "Huh?"

"You've been walking around in a daze ever since Katara left," Toph pointed out, "and you never practiced waterbending that much even when Sweetness was around. Don't think you're fooling anybody."

Aang rolled his eyes, knowing perfectly well she couldn't see his aggravated gesture. "I'm not trying to fool anyone, Toph. Now could you leave me alone, please?"

"Look, I'm all for you practicing your bending and all, but don't you need to learn firebending at some point, too?"

Aang executed a snappy water whip. "I can't. Iroh left, remember? Last time I checked, he was the only firebender in the South Pole."

"So, maybe it's time for you to leave the South Pole and go find yourself someone else to teach you firebending, or better yet, someone to help you get back into the Avatar State."

"Maybe it's time for you to get off my back about it," Aang retorted coolly, throwing a handful of ice daggers at the wall a few feet away from Toph was seated.

"Maybe when you stop moping around and do something for a change, I will!" Toph angrily replied. She jumped down, sending snow flying around her feet, but fortunately landed upright. "Y'know, for the kid who's supposed to bring hope to the world, you sure do have a hard time being positive yourself."

Aang seethed, the water he was bending plopping ungracefully into the snow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"We got lost in the desert without Appa; you gave up and Katara had to lead us out, with you yelling at us half the time. We got halfway through the Serpent's Pass and came to some water, which you conveniently forgot you could bend; you gave up again and Katara had to get us through it. You got shot in the back by Azula and you totally gave up even trying to get back into the Avatar State, and now you're putting it off because you're mad that Katara had other things to do than stay here and tell you how great you are all the time." Toph ticked them off on her square little fingers. "Face it, Aang, Katara was a crutch for you. She made it too easy for you to forget that you were supposed to be the Avatar, and that you're supposed to be there for people to lean on you when they need help, not the other way around. Now that she's gone, you have to face the fact that she won't be there to pick up the slack and make you feel better whenever things aren't easy. And I think that's what's really got you down."

The bald airbender's lip curled in defiance. He made a noise somewhat like a snarl. "What do you know about it, Toph? What do you know about anything?" He picked up his staff and was getting ready to fly away when Toph grabbed his arm, preventing him from taking off.

"I know that running away from your problems doesn't solve them. And the world can't afford to have their only hope running away anymore!"

"Who are you to talk about running away?" he shot back, trying unsuccessfully to loose his wrist from her iron grip. "You ran away from home just like I did! Because they were trying to make you do things you didn't want to do and be someone you didn't want to be."

"But have I run away from you? Have I ever once given up hope and stopped trying to help you, just because I didn't feel like it? No! And when you act like this, it makes me wonder what I'm staying for! What I'm fighting for." Toph sighed. "I'm not Katara, Aang. I'm not going to hold your hand and tell you everything will be okay, because I don't know that it will be okay. I'm not going to tell you to take a break and come back to it when you're ready, because by the time you're ready this war may be over and we may have lost. I know you haven't always gotten what you wanted out of life, and it's been hard. But just think how much harder it's going to be for a lot of people if you don't take out the Fire Lord and the Fire Nation takes over the world. There's a big question you haven't asked yourself, and you can't run away from it anymore. What's more important, Aang? What you want, or what the world needs?"

Though he wanted to be furious with Toph, Aang finally had to sigh, and recognize that there was truth in her words. Hadn't the Air Nomads said the exact same thing? That what the world needed from him as the Avatar was more important than his goofing off with Monk Gyatso, making pies and playing Pai Sho? If he'd listened to them then, if he'd chosen the path of selflessness and agreed to the training instead of running away, would Gyatso and the others still be alive today?

Katara had tried to make him feel better about that decision on the night of the storm, in the cave, but hadn't his feelings of guilt and self-blame been justified? You give people hope, she'd said. But he hadn't. He'd looked to them for hope instead, every time things looked the least bit down - and usually, 'them' meant Katara. She'd been everything Toph hadn't along this journey - patient, gentle, understanding and kind - but she'd never challenged him, either. And it took Toph's brusque, no-holds-barred reality check to make him see that he'd never get any further that way. It was time he started to do what he should have done a hundred years earlier - to grow up, and take on the mantle of responsibility.

"You're right," Aang finally said. "You're right about everything."

"You're darn right, I - huh?" Toph was taken aback. She hadn't expected Aang to admit that - she'd expected another whining excuse or a fiery backlash. Was it possible? Had he really been listening and taking her words to heart?

"When I ran away from the Air Temple, I thought what I wanted was more important than what the world needed," Aang confessed sadly, hanging his bald head in shame. "But I was wrong. And it's up to me to make things right."

"Okay," Toph said tentatively, releasing his wrist, relieved that he didn't soar off on his glider the minute she set him free. "Well… what are you going to do first?"

"I don't have time to learn enough firebending to defeat Ozai," Aang thought aloud, "he's been firebending all his life. Sokka was right. I have to find some way to get back into the Avatar State. And I only know one person who can help me do that."

"The guru at the Eastern Air Temple?"

Aang nodded. "It's time I faced my problems head-on intead of running away from them. I should have listened to you sooner, Sifu Toph."

The earthbender grinned widely, and launched herself at Aang in a hug that more closely resembled a chokehold. "Better late than never, Twinkletoes!" she cried happily. "Hey, if you're going north into Earth Kingdom territory anyway, do you care to give me a ride?"

Aang had to push her off and catch his breath before he could answer. "Where to?"

"Home," Toph replied simply. "I can't tell you to face your problems head-on if I'm not willing to face mine, too. It's time I told my dad exactly what I thought of him sending those two earthbending goons after me - and that I find out if I can ever make things right with my parents."

"And if you can't?" Aang questioned.

"Don't bother me with the details," she said roughly, and Aang grinned, glad to see the old Toph was back as well. "Just get Appa ready and let's get going!"

ooo LL ooo

He couldn't believe it. He'd scarcely heard the faint scratching knock at his door, or the padding of light, long feet moving across his floor, but Tai Lan couldn't deny what his eyes told him - and his eyes saw Mai, like a pale ghost against the soft green glow of his crystal hearthfire. He'd thought he would have to endure weeks of pursuit, of a clever game of cat and mouse, before she succumbed to him.

He was wrong.

"How did you get in here?" he asked bluntly, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

The darkling girl held up a small, sharp-pointed dagger. "I can do more with these than just throw them."

"I'm impressed," Tai Lan admitted, sitting up against the headboard. "I would ask if you planned to use that on me next, but if you were going to, you would have already done it. So, why are you here?"

"You asked me what I wanted," came Mai's quiet reply. "I'm not sure what I want, but I know what I don't want. I don't want to be alone anymore."

"That's not enough," he answered plainly. "If I'm going to be with you, I need to know that it's because you want me, not because you can't have him."

Mai's eyes narrowed. "Why do you think I'm here in the middle of the night, if I don't want this?"

"Because you're feeling lonely and rejected, and you want to prove to yourself that it's not because you're lacking in desirability." He folded his arms matter-of-factly. He knew it was the truth, and so did she. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, Lady Mai. Different men have different tastes, just as different women have different tastes. Look at me and answer me honestly. Am I to yours?"

She tried not to look at him, tried not to see the broad chest with its hairy black whorls in the center, not to see the firm set of his brow or the long braid hanging down the line of his back. He was attractive, and he knew it. "This is just a game to you," she accused.

"Oh, I assure you, I'm quite serious," he replied, "and you didn't answer my question. Perhaps you need more evidence before coming to a decision?" With that he carelessly threw back the sheet, noting with some satisfaction Mai's expression and her inability to look away from his unclothed body. He'd guessed that the girl was utterly inexperienced, and the fact that her eyes were now bulging out of her head in both shock and curiosity confirmed his suspicions. "Why do you look so frightened?"

Mai couldn't honestly answer the question. He hadn't raised a hand against her or moved to force her in any way, and she didn't think he would. And hadn't she been the one to come here, after all? Yes, she was afraid, but if it wasn't Tai Lan she was afraid of… didn't that mean that what she really feared was herself?

Chuckling to himself as he watched her inner struggle, Tai Lan stood and took his robe from the edge of his bed, wrapping it around himself and coming to stand beside the green crystalline fire with her. "You can relax," he said as she flinched. "I'm not going to hurt you. Nothing will happen between us without either your consent or your initiation. You have my word."

Mai shook her head, bewildered by his instant change of tactics, from seduction to restraint. Perhaps it was only his Dai Li training, but he had a way of always making her feel that he was at least three steps ahead of her. "I don't understand. What do you want from me?"

"I thought I knew," he said frankly, looking away, into the emerald glow. "Now, I'm not so sure."