Fire Lord's Bedroom
Flames surrounded him.
His door was scorched—it wouldn't open quickly enough for him. Stalking inside, he punched fire into the fire pit—the safest place for him to release—and watched as the flame grew wild as his breathing lost its calm rhythm. Jealously had engulfed him, and he was having a hard time controlling his temper. He was thankful that there had been no guards stationed outside his chambers. Closing his eyes, he tried to practice the breathing exercises he performed whilst meditating.
Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.
The mental image of Katara smiling, laughing, and staring admirably at a faceless person entered his mind. With a deep breath, he opened his eyes. They were clouded with anger and he watched as the flame in the fire place before him cracked. Two small puffs of flame fell onto the carpet and he stomped them out. With another deep breath, he started pacing back and forth; willing the mental image of her being happy without another person out of his mind.
It was not successful.
Coming to a halt, he caught sight of the marred side of his face in Mai's vanity mirror. Growling, he threw a fist forward and watched as the shattered glass fell, scattering themselves on the desk and carpet. He inspected his once-more bloodied knuckles before bringing his hand to his mouth; sucking off the few droplets of blood.
Katara was like a scar that would not heal. In the beginning of his own healing process, his scar would scab over, but unintentionally tear open. This had been the last two years of his life—whether or not he had Mai—and he was terrified that it would always be like this. It was Katara, for crying out loud! He knew that she deserved to be happy. He wanted her to be happy. Happy with me, a voice in the back of his mind said.
He wanted her and there was nothing he could do about it. He could not control how he felt. They had been dating after all. They had been in love. They were going to get married. They were going to have a life together. No matter how much time passed, this was something that had not changed for him.
He wanted a life with her.
He heard the fire in the pit crack once more, and before he could do anything, his floor was on fire. He let out a small sigh, and willed himself to concentrate. Maybe he was overreacting, but he was not surprised by his outburst.
Smoke filled his nostrils as he tried regaining control of his breathing. Looking behind him, he saw that what was once red flooring was now black. The bottoms of the drapes caught fire and soon his entire bed would be on fire. Mai is not going to be happy, he thought.
He heard fast approaching footsteps and he coughed as he aired out the smoke in front of him. Preparing for company, he squared his shoulders and linked his hands behind his back—hiding the injury.
"Lord Zuko! Is everything all right?" A voice called out as two guards ran inside the bedroom. They coughed and fanned in front of their faces.
"The fire lost control," he said as he brushed past them. "Go find someone to come and extinguish this."
As he left the two coughing guards behind him, he saw another heading in the direction of his uncle's room. He decided to turn the opposite direction and find Mai before his uncle had the chance to scold him.
A/N: Someone requested Zuko's perspective of his reaction. I was originally going to have this be the first scene of the next chapter - which I am currently working on - but it disrupted the flow. So here's this interlude update. The next chapter should be up tomorrow or Sunday.