"If you're brave enough to say goodbye, life will reward you with a new hello." - Paulo Coehlo
A thick, uncomfortable silence surrounded them in the office room as Zuko and Katara stood before each other in front of his desk. Katara shifted uncomfortably as Zuko made fists that shook at his sides. One, two, three deep breaths, Iroh thought, counting the Fire Lord's breathing.
"I—you're what?" Zuko's tone of voice displayed the hurt that Iroh could evidently see on his nephew's face.
"I'm engaged," she repeated. "As are you…what's the big deal?"
"Who is this guy? Does anybody else know him? When did you get engaged?" Zuko voiced, ignoring her question altogether. Katara raised a skeptical brow.
"His name is Hahn. He's from the Northern Water Tribe. Only my family has met him. He asked me to marry him the night before he was due back home, so…a day before your uncle's letter arrived."
Iroh watched as Zuko let out an incredulous laugh and turned to face his regent. His hands were still in fists, but they seemed to cease shaking. He felt a pang of pity for his dearest nephew.
"Do you hear this, Uncle? A day before your letter arrived. Life still likes to be unfair to me when it comes to Katara, it seems."
"Is it suddenly really hot to anyone else?" Katara muttered, looking at either of the firebenders.
"Fire Lord Zuko, maybe it would be best if you excused yourself before you set fire to my office. I would like to have a word with Lady Katara—alone." He said, giving his best commanding look. Zuko nodded, giving one last look to Katara before stalking off toward the door.
Once they were alone, Katara seemed to let out a breath she had been holding. Iroh offered an apologetic smile before urging her to take another seat. She cleared her throat, straightening out her dress. He picked up a small teaspoon and stirred his drink as the waterbender watched on with patient eyes.
"Did…did he make the room get hotter? Because of his temper rising?" She asked, eyebrows furrowing as they locked eyes. He allowed himself a small chuckle at her confusion, but nodded nonetheless.
"Yes, I'm afraid firebenders are able to make a room unbearable when they are angry. I must apologize on behalf of my nephew. The news of your betrothal comes as a surprise to us all. It also makes things a bit more complicated. You see, Mai is aware of the situation at hand, but I'm afraid that you will be harder to convince now that you are spoken for."
"What situation? Excuse me, Uncle, for being confused. I understand the story in which you told us, but it calls for Zuko and me to procreate. We cannot be forced to have a child together." Same old stern Katara, Iroh smiled.
"Of course you cannot be forced. If I am allowed to ask…do you love your husband-to-be?" Katara seemed taken aback by his sudden question.
"Yes, I do."
"As much as you should love the one you are to be with for life?"
Iroh hated the idea of taking such drastic measures with Katara, but he had a point to make. Her silence gave him all the answers he needed, though.
"I might not love him as much as you once loved your wife, but if you can understand that it's hard getting to know someone on a romantic level after my accident. I'm afraid that I'll wake up one day and not remembering anything about him. It's an irrational fear, I know, but I hold myself back."
"It is not an irrational fear, my dear, because that is what happened to you. Your subconscious might as be holding you back because it knows that this is not right—not truly."
"What do you mean it's happened to me? H-How would you know?"
Images of Zuko lashing out in pain, anger, and tears flashed before his mind. He closed his eyes, sighing. A few moments passed before he reopened them, and he pulled opened the top drawer of his office desk. He pulled out a gem and kept it out of Katara's line of sight.
"Before your accident, you were in a relationship. You were in love. When you woke up, you had no memory of said person, or relationship." He explained, raising the gem and setting it between the two of them on the desk. Katara gaped—he assumed that nobody had bothered to tell her that she had been in a relationship. He watched as her blue eyes fell onto the yellow and blue carving, and gasped.
"W-Was this for me?" She whispered, her fingers falling lightly on top of it. Iroh nodded.
"Go on, take it," he urged. "I think it's time that you and my nephew had a talk."
"It's beautiful." She said, scooping it up into her hand.
"It's imperative that you know that this child in the prophecy is destined to be born. It doesn't matter how much you want to fight it, it will happen one way or another. I apologize about the harshness of my earlier question, but I need you to understand."
"I'm listening." She nodded, urging.
"I want you and my nephew to take a trip out to Fire Fountain City. It's an island nearly a day's journey away from here. I will explain this all to him once I know he has calmed down. I think it's time."
"Time for what—"
"—I believe it is time for you to have your meeting with Fate and Destiny."
Before she could reply, the door of his office burst open and a panting guard appeared in the doorway. He gripped the frame, panting, and straightened himself up before speaking.
"Here you are, Sir! There's been a fire in the Fire Lord's personal chambers. Hau told me to find you."
Sighing, Iroh nodded and dismissed the guard. As he stood up, Katara mimicked his actions and headed for the door.
"Katara, I will go and handle this. You need to head back to your room and pack a bag." He spoke as she came to a halt at the sound of his voice.
"Are you sure? I can only imagine Zuko's anger is the reason behind this 'fire'." She asked, using her fingers as parentheses.
Iroh chuckled. "Yes, I'm sure it is as well. No worries, though, I'll make him a calming cup of jasmine tea and tell him the plan while you pack."
"Oh, right! Thank you for the tea, Uncle." She said, smiling as glanced over her shoulder as she continued to walk.
"Katara," he called out. "I wouldn't show him that gem until the right moment."
She stopped in the doorway, and turned to give him proper attention.
"No worries, I won't."
"What am I doing here?" Katara muttered to herself as she stood in her walk-in closet. She pulled a dress off its hanger in one violent motion and stumbled backward a bit. A soft knock on her open door kept her from throwing the item of clothing in frustration.
"Am I interrupting?" Mai's voice sounded from the doorway.
"No," she lied. "I'm just packing."
"I'm just here to see how that's coming along. Also, Iroh said you might need some help with your way around the palace."
Katara appeared from the closet as she folded the dress and placed it in her fancy, golden rimmed suitcase—courtesy of the palace—and sat down on the edge of her bed.
"No, I remember quite a bit from my dreams." She explained absentmindedly, and then blushed.
"Oh, right. Zuko told me that you dreamt about the fire nation in your coma." Mai explained as she took a seat on the other side of Katara's suitcase.
"Yeah, but after my talk with Iroh, I wouldn't be surprised if that was the actual future as well. He said these dreams weren't actual dreams, but pieces of the future that was meant to be."
"Do you recognize this bedroom?" Mai asked curiously, looking around the bedroom. "It was Zuko's before he was appointed Fire Lord."
"No, I don't," Katara shook her head. "Why would I?"
"Well, you did share a bed at one point in time. I thought you might remember. Have a memory…or something." Mai trailed off, glancing back at Katara.
Katara sighed. "You probably aren't pleased about this whole situation. I feel like I'm going to be wedging myself between the two of you."
Mai laughed. "I had a feeling this would happen sooner or later. Zuko and I have been friends since childhood; he can't keep anything from me. I know I don't make him happy. Not really. Not the way you did."
"I'm sorry." She offered awkwardly, playing with the hem of her dress.
"There's no reason for you to be sorry, Katara," Mai played with her own sleeve, "I love Zuko enough to put his happiness before mine. I did when I faced Azula, and I do now."
"Faced Azula? I'm sorry, I'm not following."
Golden eyes met blue eyes.
"Oh! Oh! It doesn't matter. Point is: if you two happen to rekindle your love, I will not stand in the way."
"Our love," Katara dead panned.
"Curse Zuko and his temper! Iroh is right: you two need to have a talk. There is a lot you need to be told, but nobody else should tell you except himself."
"I know this much: Zuko and I had a relationship in the past. From his reaction to my engagement, I doubt it's something he would want to talk about. He's still hurt that I can't remember."
"It'll be the two of you for the most part on this trip. Either way, you should really talk about what you've forgotten."
"I can't believe it's that easy to all of you! I'm spoken for! I'm not just going to ignore my loyalty to my fiancé and procreate with someone who I dated when I was a teenager." Katara felt herself growing frustrated once again. She groaned, placing her head in her hands.
"Nobody is asking you to do anything, Katara. Iroh is sending the two of you to meet with Fate so you can learn more about this prophecy. Whatever happens is up to you."
"I'm sorry," Katara explained. "Today has been crazy, and I've had to digest a lot." She sighed, running a hand down her face. Mai seemed to sense her frustration, and sighed as well.
"I should let you finish packing in peace. Iroh said to take your bag to the parlor whenever you're finished. Zuko will be waiting for you."
"Thank you, Mai. You've been very kind to me." She said as the non-bender stood up.
Mai shrugged. "We never got the chance to get properly acquainted before your accident, so I figured now was as good a time as ever."
"I'll remember your kindness." She spoke honestly.
"Katara, I know you want to be loyal to your husband-to-be, but you know you should never deny your heart what it truly wants. If something within you happens to arise during this trip don't deny yourself because you've made a promise to someone who isn't your true love."
Katara blinked dumbly as Mai excused herself, and left the waterbender to her thoughts.
A cool night breeze blew Katara's hair back as she walked along the deck of the ship. It was a lot bigger, and fancier than the ship she had traveled on to reach the Fire Nation. They had been at sea for nearly three hours, and Katara had no once been able to talk to Zuko alone. A lot of the crew stole away his attention, but she had a feeling that he was still avoiding her.
Once she had finished packing, she met Iroh and Zuko in the parlor room of the palace. Zuko put as much space between them as possible on the couch, and looked out his window the entire time they rode in the carriage. Iroh tried to assure her that it was because he was still in shock of today's events, and that she had nothing to worry about.
"My nephew, after all, can never stay mad at you."
"Hey, I thought you might want this," Katara's voice was soft as she came to a stop behind the Fire Lord. "It's getting a bit chilly."
Zuko turned at the sound of her voice, and narrowed his eyes as he examined her.
"You're not wearing a robe."
"I know, I thought you might want this since you're the one who is actually going to be out here,"
He eyed the robe for a moment before taking it out of her grasp. He nodded his thanks and turned back toward the sea. Katara frowned.
"Do you think we could get along on this journey? I don't want you mad at me. Otherwise this is going to be quite unbearable." The words left her mouth before she could stop them. Sighing, she waited for Zuko's reaction.
"I'm not mad at you," he explained. "I'm upset about our situation."
She felt her confusion rise, and watched as Zuko turned back around to face her. His slithered into the robe and crossed his arms over his chest. She fought back a shiver as the two of them stood at the front of the ship. The setting sun cast a golden glow across his features; illuminating his scar. He looked handsome…yet very intimidating.
"What situation? Having to travel with me? Well, I'm sorry, but there's nobody else involved in this prophecy!" She placed her hands on her hips. Zuko groaned.
"You're doing it! Even after your accident you still do it!"
"I'm not doing anything. You're—"
"—you're making assumptions before someone has the chance to explain themselves!" He yelled, catching her by surprise. She dug her fingers into her hips in frustration at being cut off.
"Then why don't you explain?"
"I can't, Katara! I don't know how. Traveling with you is not a problem with me. I have a problem with the past two years of our lives. I've been upset with our situation since your accident. My uncle has you brought to my home out of the blue, and I'm mocked with the future that I can't have!"
"I am not going to apologize for meeting someone new when you had every chance to start over with me. You knew where I was, and you didn't do a thing about it. I want us to get along on this trip, but it's all up to you. We are going to learn more about this prophecy, and then we'll return home. I don't know what's going to happen. I'm confused, Zuko. But I'm not sorry for trying to be happy in this confusing life of mine. It's hard, you know."
"It's been hard for me as well, Katara. I might have all of our memories, but having to suddenly erase you from my life was not easy. I regret that I ran, that I fled, but I was never strong enough to face you. I've been doing it head-on since I saw you in my doorway. Granted it's only been a day, but still, it's hard. We've both been readjusting."
"Then let's go into this—together."
"Like old times?"
"Like old times that I can't remember." She said, smiling. Zuko laughed.
"You might be able to one day."
"Maybe, but until then, I'm up for some new ones with you."
He nodded. "A fresh start…I like it."
"Maybe that's all we need to figure this out," she said. "I'm tired. I'm going to head back to my room and get some rest before we arrive. Good night, Zuko."
"Good night, Katara," he smiled. "I'll wake you when we dock."
A/N: My apologies for my unexpected absence. Hopefully this wasn't too bad since I haven't written in about a week. Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated. :)