When Katalina returned to her apartment, she went straight for her room. She fell onto her stomach on her bed with a heavy sigh. After a few minutes of stillness, she turned onto her back to gaze up at the ceiling. There was still at least half a day ahead of her and she had no idea what to do with herself. She couldn't go to the Jasmine Dragon. She didn't understand why, but she just knew that she couldn't. She wasn't yet ready to see Zuko again. Or his girlfriend. His girlfriend.

Why did that bother her so much?

She got back up. She needed to clear her head and distract her thoughts. So she left the apartment headed for a private place she had discovered in the city. It was her go-to place to lose control. And if anyone needed to find her, Jet new of the place. So he would know where to go.

Hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

She arrived at the spot and sat down before doing anything else. She closed her eyes and began to meditate. That was something she hadn't done in a long while. Maybe that was her problem. She couldn't focus herself, though. And that was aggravating her even further.

She got back to her feet and took a deep breath. Then she began to firebend. That was her release. She hated fighting and she hated using her bending, but she did when she needed to. And right now she needed to. So she shot fire in every which direction. Her eyes were still shut, as well, so she had no idea where she was stumbling and how close she could be to getting hurt and accidentally burning herself. At that moment, though, she didn't care. So she just continued to firebend. Until, that is, she tripped over her own two feet and collapsed. Her eyes shot open as her body turned. But she put her hands out in front of her and caught herself before she could face plant.

She remained on the ground on her hands and knees as she worked on catching her breath. Her head was hanging between her arms until she pushed herself back so that she was sitting on her knees. She took a couple more deep breaths before jumping back to her feet and firebending some more. She was exhausted yet she still had so much more in her that needed to be released. So she decided to ignore the exhaustion and just keep going.

She kicked and punched the air all around her, this time keeping her eyes open. She punched left and kicked right, jumped up and crouched down. She began to spin, creating a tunnel of fire around herself. Her arms flung around herself and one reached out too far; she accidentally dipped her hand into the fire. She pulled her hand into herself, collapsing back to her knees, hunched over herself. For a few moments she rocked back and forth. Then she finally took a look at her bent hand; her fingers received the most damage. It was sure to leave scar.

After a couple minutes of rubbing her fingers in attempt to soothe the pain, she stood back up. She decided to finally make her way back home. When she arrived, she stopped outside the front door.

"Maybe I should just go to the Jasmine Dragon," she thought aloud, speaking to herself. "I mean, what's the worst thing that could happen? Zuko has to know by now that I'm in the city, so it's not like either of us would be caught by surprise." She paused. "Things could be awkward between us, though. Or we may not even get along anymore. It has been three years after all. And a lot has happened to both of us in these three years." Now she sighed. "What the hell am I doing to myself? I need to shut the hell up and just go and see what happens. That's the only way I'll get any answers."

With that, she started for the Jasmine Dragon. But she didn't get far at all for when she turned to head in the direction of the teashop she ran straight into another person and sent them both tumbling to the ground.

"I am so so—" Katalina began to apologise as she practically landed on the person beneath her. But she stopped when she saw who was beneath her. "Zuko?"

"Well, you've certainly gotten stronger," her old best friend replied. "You knocked me down just now without even the slightest effort."

She laughed breathlessly. "I am so sorry!"

"Yeah, I think you had started to say that already."

She continued to breathlessly laugh. "Hi."

Zuko smiled back at last. "Hi. It's good to see you again."

"You too." She paused and lost her breath even more so when she looked into his eyes. "I-I should probably g-get up now, huh?" she then spoke back up, stuttering a bit.

He chuckled. "Maybe."

So she went to get off of him, but he grabbed her wrist before she could really go anywhere.

"What happened to you?" he asked, having noticed her freshly injured fingers.

"I may have just burned myself by accident," she admitted.

"How the hell did you manage that?"

She shrugged, smiling uncertainly. Then she took her hand back and stood up. Zuko followed suit. And once he was on his feet again, he pulled Katalina into him and hugged her. She reluctantly hugged him back.

"Is something wrong?" he suddenly checked as he pulled away.

"No, it's just…you're not that same thirteen-year-old boy I saw sailing away three years ago."

"Well, that was three years ago."

"And I've been telling myself that over and over again and now it's like time has stopped." She paused before shaking her head. "Sorry, I'm just—" she stopped and smiled. "I missed you."

His smiled returned. "You haven't changed a bit, have you?"

"I can't say the same for you. I mean, you ditched the ponytail." He nodded. Her smile widened. "I like it a lot." She ran her fingers through his hair and eventually came to a stop on his scar, her smile gone. His was gone, too, and his auburn eyes were now closed. "So this is what Ozai did to his son."

He took her hand away from his face. "I'm over," he stated. He opened his eyes. "I've put the past behind me."

"I'm impressed. You wouldn't have been able to say that three years ago."

"Well, I'm not the person I was three years ago."

"I'm quickly realising that."

A silence fell upon them. "So," he broke it, letting go of Katalina's hand at last, "your friends were telling me about the Resistors."

"So you did meet them already?"

"I did."

"You already knew two of them, though."

He swallowed hard. "I did." He paused. "How did you get Jet to trust you?"

"None of them knew I was a firebender until the Day of Black Sun."

"That's an odd day to find out."

"Yeah, but by the time he found out he already knew that he could trust me and that I was against the Fire Nation just as much as he was."

"I see." He nodded. "That was the day I told my father I was going to find and join the Avatar."

"How'd that go?"

"Not well."

She chuckled a bit. "Why does that not surprise me?"

"It shouldn't."

"And Mai."

"What about her?"

"She's your girlfriend."

"She is."

"You two are good for each other."

"Thanks, I think so, too."

"I figured as much." She thought for a moment. "So what made you choose the Avatar over your country?"

"I realised that the war had made the rest of the world hate the Fire Nation instead of look up to it. I mean, Sozin wanted to start the war to show the rest of the world the Fire Nation's success and power, but it obviously didn't turn out that way. And I knew it was time for the world to start anew with an era of peace."

"Did Iroh just possess you?"

He laughed. "Yeah, I know, he got to me."

She smiled. "Nothing wrong with that. But it took you three years to come to that realisation?"

"Sorry I'm not as quick as you."

"That's not what I meant at all, Zuko."

"Look Katalina, I'm sorry that I used to think differently from you, but you should leave the past behind."

She looked at him in slight shock. "Where did that just come from?" she asked in response. "I mean, I have left the past behind. I grew up in the Fire Nation and I've accepted that. My parents disowned me and shipped me off to the Colonies to fend for myself and I've accepted that as well. I'm not holding any sort of grudge so I don't know what you're talking about."

"Wait, your parents did that to you?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "It's whatever. If they hadn't I wouldn't have had the chance to form the Resistors."

He thought for a moment. "You seem angry."

"And that's coming from someone who used to blowup over every little thing," she said back

"Okay, that was uncalled for." He shook his head. "What is your problem?"

"I don't have a problem."

"No, Katalina, something is wrong."

"Bullshit. Nothing is wrong, Zuko. It's just that it's been three years since we last saw each other. We've both changed in so many ways. I don't think we know each other as well as we used to. We can't. You don't know me as well."

"Oh, and I supposed Jet knows you better than I do?"

"Excuse me? What the hell do you mean by that?"

He sighed, closing his eyes. "Nothing. I didn't mean to say that."

"You did say it, though. So what did it mean? Do you have a problem with me being friends with Jet?"

"Well, he did try to have me and Uncle arrested."

"That's not my problem, so don't take it out on me." She sighed out of frustration. "I knew this was a bad idea."

"What was a bad idea?"

"Seeing you again. I just knew it wouldn't go well." She covered her face with her hands. They fell away after a couple short moments. "It's been way too long."

"What does that matter?"

"It matters because we seem to be completely different people now. I mean, damn it, you're the Fire Lord now!"

"So what? I'm still me."

"But things just aren't the same as they were before."

"You're right," he agreed. "Things are better than they were before."

"Just because the war is over, doesn't automatically mean things are better. It only means that the world gets the chance to start over from the beginning."

"And the world deserves that chance."

She thought for a moment. "Just make sure that the next time you leave for three years," she met his gaze, swallowing hard, "you take me with you."

He nodded. "I can do that. I don't think I'll be going on any other three-year-long trips, though."

"Then just anywhere you go…" she trailed off and her gaze fell down. "I have to go now."

"What? Katalina—"

"No, Zuko, I—" she paused, "—I have to go," she then repeated. She turned away from him, but he grabbed hold of her hand. Her injured hand. She winced slightly and pulled it out of his grasp. "Stop."

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do that," he replied.

"No. Don't apologise." She massaged her fingers. "I have to go," she declared a third time. "Tell your girlfriend I said hi." And she hurried away from him.

Katalina didn't know how to feel. She hadn't been expecting that scene to play out that way. But now she knew that she was right; she hadn't been ready to see Zuko again. And she wished she hadn't bumped into him just then.

That was only one thing she had been right about, though. Other than that, she had been wrong after all.