I only have a little more than a week before I go back to college, and I'm so excited! (: Here's the next chapter & I hope everyone loves it!

~nightfall26

"I trust my nephew more than anyone, and I know he's out looking for Master Katara. Don't worry about them. They're safe with each other, and they'll be back as soon as they find each other." I sipped at my sake and readied the messages for the carrier pigeons. My words, while cryptic, were laced with dread. I had no way of knowing if Zuko was alright, or if he'd even found Katara at all. Aang must have sensed my insecurity. His eyes were darkening with pain as he stared out the window, taking in the pillars of smoke rising from the city.

All of a sudden, a messenger burst through the doors, stumbling and bleeding all over the floor.

"Iroh- Sir- Azula has amassed an army and they're firing on anyone who gets close to them. They're stationed out in the harbor."

The Avatar and I shared a glance before he leapt up to help the man.

Nephew, please return to your people soon. We need you.

zuko. one year prior.

I had always been amazed by Katara's ability to drag me out shopping with her. It was one of my least favorite things to do, but once it was paired with my favorite person in the world, it suddenly became something appealing. She loved buying people gifts. And with her new title as High Ambassador to the Water Nation, she was paid a pretty penny to stay here with me and keep me company. More often than not, she would find something curious and strange and immediately have it shipped off to Sokka and Suki. It was the cutest thing, watching her dodge and weave between the booths in the marketplace looking for interesting presents for her family.

Sometimes she went with Uncle instead, and on those days, I usually found a gift of my own resting on my desk when I got back to my room at night. Once, she got me a new quill pen with a long plume that had been dyed red. Another time, it was a paperweight carved from marble into the shape of a koi fish.

But today, she'd begged and pleaded for me to cancel my afternoon meeting with my advisors in order to go out to lunch and of course- go shopping.

"Please, Zuko? It'd mean the world to me for you to go with me. You know how much I love spending time with you!" She'd batted those luxuriously long eyelashes at me, knowing I couldn't resist her ocean-wide eyes and her curved lips.

"Fine, fine, Katara, but you owe me." I called over my shoulder, heading to my chambers to dress in my casual clothes.

"I'll make you dinner tonight!" Her voice echoed down the hall after me and by the time I turned around, she had skipped off somewhere. A smile was fiercely tugging at my lips as I entered my bedroom.

"What are you smiling about?" Mai was sitting on the end of the bed, her ankles crossed as she polished her knives. I shrugged off my shirt easily.

"Uncle was explaining a particularly funny joke to me this afternoon." I lied through my teeth, keeping my back to her so that she couldn't see right through my reddened cheeks.

"Hmm." She hardly replied at all.

I always felt freer when I'd exited that room and gone dashing down the hall after my best friend, the girl from the water tribe with the lovely eyes and the fierce temper.

"Took you long enough, Zuko! You're worse than a girl when it comes to getting ready." Katara teased, reaching into the space between us to grab my hand and yank me into the streets after her. She had a way of doing that. Reaching into the awkward space between two people and yanking them together. It had taken us forever, but the bond we shared was something I knew I'd treasure for a lifetime.

Often times I cursed how lucky Aang was. He would get to wake up every morning with a beautiful, vivaciously alive woman waking up right along with him. He'd get to laugh every day, no matter how stressful the situation. He'd get to feel the warm touch of her hands when he had an injury; and even when he didn't. And the thought that really kept me awake at night was the fact that he would be the one to claim her for his own, to take her lips, her soul, every part of her that held meaning and tie it to himself in all ways possible.

Yeah, I envied the little guy. She was too old for him anyways.

"I know, I know. Where do you want to go today, Katara?" I smiled down at her as we walked down the dusty streets together. Her hand had since dropped from mine and I found myself missing the warmth already. She turned to look at me over her shoulder for a moment, studying me as if she were trying to read my mind.

"I wanted to get your Uncle something today! He's been so kind to me." Her head turned back to face the roads in front of us and I missed the way her eyes had been focused on my face. Wow, I was in really bad shape.

"Katara, how come you never get Aang anything?" I blurted, the query bursting from my lips accidentally. It was true, she never did buy her boyfriend anything on these little expeditions we had around the market. It was odd, how she barely spoke of him when we were together. At least I wanted to believe it was odd. Stopping to admire a booth hung with intricately woven fabrics, her lips were pursed in puzzlement.

"I don't know, honestly. I just never seem to connect him with anything around here. He's so rarely seen around in these parts that it's almost as if Aang isn't here at all." Again, true. The Avatar was staying here in the Fire Nation too, but he was so often out flying missions and meeting new people that he never seemed to have time for me or for his girlfriend. I wondered if our constant attentions to one another would bother him.

"Do you connect here?" I asked, rather foolishly hoping that she'd speak of our connection, of the way we interacted, of the friendship between us that somehow seemed stronger than her and Aang's.

"Of course I do, Zuko! I love being here in the Fire Nation. It's so generous of you to let me stay here." Her answering smile, while bright, didn't hold the answer that I'd been hoping for. So I put the thoughts that had been plaguing me all morning out of my head and did my best to enjoy the rest of the day with her.

As we were wrapping up our trip, I began to sense that Katara was starting to wander. Every so often, if I didn't stay right beside her, I'd lose her in the crowd and my already paranoid mind would start to panic. Suddenly, as we were beginning to walk back up to the palace, she disappeared from my side. My heart started racing in my chest, my palms sweating, all the while calling her name in a way that hurt my chest.

When her face didn't surface from the crowd, my paranoia began to eat at me in a most desperate way.

"Katara, seriously, where are you?" My voice had risen to an uncomfortable timbre.

A single tanned hand burst up from the crowds several feet away before disappearing again. I raced in that direction, hearing sounds of a disturbance ahead. Sure enough, Katara had just wrestled herself from the grip of a much bigger man, dressed in simple robes and a ghoulish sneer. Her hand flew to the water pouch that always sat on her hip.

But I stepped in just before she made another move. If she'd been recognized in a crowd such as this, people would go crazy. They'd flock to her, to watch the fight, to call her names and jeer at her. I couldn't let that happen.

So I moved in between them, reaching behind me to grab Katara's hand in mine and staring down the man who had the audacity to grab my Katara.

"What's your business with her, might I ask?" I snarled the words from between clenched teeth, her hand in mine reminding me to keep my temper in check. But all I wanted was to rip a hole in this asshole who thought he could possibly touch her in any way.

"That's Water Tribe trash right there, and it's my duty to see it makes it's way out of our city!" I'd heard the words a thousand times, and I was sure that Katara had heard them double as often- which made me sad. She didn't deserve any of that. I was being hypocritical though; even I had called her a peasant my fair share of times.

"You'd best show respect to who you're talking to, sir." I snapped, brushing my hair out of my face to bare my scar to the small crowd that had gathered. A gasp burned its way around the square as I did so. People fell to their knees all around me, bowing, apologizing and groveling, but he didn't.

"What makes you think that you're any better than I am, Fire Lord Zuko? You're still nothing but a banished Prince in my eyes." Oh, he was really asking for it.

"Zuko, really, it's okay-" Katara's voice from behind me infuriated me even more. She shouldn't have to walk in fear when she went out into my city. She should be respected, especially because in her own way, she was royalty too. Being the daughter of the Chief was no small feat. I turned to her for a moment, my eyes connecting with hers with an almost audible sizzle.

"I've got this, Katara. I'll take care of you."

She fell silent, her mouth forming a small O before her cheeks reddened and she grasped my hand even tighter. I knew that it had to be hard for her not to slap this man in front of us silly with a water whip, but she also knew that her reputation in my city was important to the both of us.

As much as I wanted to blast him with fire and send him for a dip in the harbor, I knew I couldn't do things like that any more. I was the Fire Lord. I had to be different, now.

"Water tribe peasants like that one there have no business stepping into a city as great as this one." The words were a dagger through my heart, and I released Katara's hand slowly.

"You don't insult my most honored guest and best friend in such a way, especially not in my city." Twin balls of fire blossomed on my clenched fists, and the man recoiled in shock.

"As Fire Lord, I ask that my people are respectful towards people of other nations. I know that it can't be expected from some, but still, I ask for an effort." The people around us were crowding closer, as if expecting a fight. But all I did was ignite the air in between the stranger and I for a brief moment, startling him and then walking away.

The applause from the people who had watched resounded in my heart for days to come.

"Thank you, Zuko. Really. Thank you. You knew exactly what to do." Katara whispered, as soon as we were alone in her chamber. I'd carried her packages from the day of shopping up the hill to the palace for her, and I placed them gently on her bed before resting my hand on her shoulder and smiling at her.

"Anytime, Katara. Anytime."

katara.

As someone who had depended purely on themselves for a great portion of their life, the idea of allowing Zuko into my world in such an intimate way was startling to me. Not in a bad way, exactly, just in a different one. When I had been with Aang, it had been as easy to ignore him as it was to talk to him. He was so eager to please that he didn't care what I did or who I was with, and when I wasn't with him, it seemed like he didn't mind. He must have cared, inside, but he never made it apparent.

But with Zuko, I knew that everything was going to change. The passion that burned in his eyes was the same as it was in mine; and I knew that if another man so much as looked at me, his eyes would burn with fury and his tongue would be sharp with insults. Which, strangely, was appealing to me. I wanted to feel special. I wanted to feel as if I were worth enough to fight for, as if I were valuable. Even just today, when we'd gone to the harbor to purchase two tickets on a passenger boat to the Fire Nation, he'd kept his hand securely on the small of my back. I'd thrilled to the small sign of affection. My heart had just about stopped in my chest the first time the warmth of his touch had settled there this morning and I was sure that a blush had tinted my cheeks.

We'd gotten lunch at a small little cafe that was off the beaten path, at my suggestion, of course. I'd eaten there alone so many times that I was unbelievably eager to share it with him, to hold his hand under the table and to share a dessert. It was so new to me, all of this. But I loved it.

"Zuko?"

"Hmm?" His head had dropped down onto my shoulder affectionately as we sat on the bed in my apartment.

"I'm so glad you found me." I knew that it was corny, but the words had been itching to burst from my mouth all day. He smiled softly. His expression was one I personally knew well; but one that wasn't shown to many other people besides myself and our friends.

Our friends.

Tui and La, I was already thinking in plurals.

The kindness in his eyes had once been a rarity experienced by few, especially when Mai was involved, but now I felt as if it had settled into him permanently. He was a kind and benevolent ruler already. Having demonstrated his love for the people in hundreds of occasions, most of them warmed to his rule and acknowledged him as a great leader.

A few years ago, I would have never pictured myself in this position. It would have frightened me, the vision of sitting on a couch in a strange apartment in Ba Sing Se, all alone except for the once banished Prince that slept beside me at night. But now, it made my heart sing. The idea of boarding a ship with him for a few days on our way back to his home Nation was one that made my heart flutter.

My heart had never fluttered before. I'd thought it was a silly and cliche idea, the thought of a heart actually fluttering at something so simple. I'd been such a cynic, I realized. I'd been happy to take care of people, happy to love and care for perfect strangers but much less likely to open my heart to one. Had it just been because I hadn't met the right person? Or had my heart been closed because I'd been so betrayed by Zuko back in this very city so long ago?

Aang had been a struggle for years, and yet Zuko was all smooth sailing. It was as if I'd been swimming against the current trying to force myself to love someone I didn't and finally I was allowing myself to ride the waves.

The peace of knowing I was safe eased my thoughts from frantic back into steady, and I concentrated on the rise and fall of Zuko's chest as we fell asleep.

aang.

I found myself wandering the halls late at night now. I'd never been one to stay up late before Katara and I had split. But nowadays, my tortured mind was spinning itself in circles late at night that kept me wide awake.

Iroh and I had sent out letters to all of the friends I could think of, asking for help and begging for some form of council. The strange army that was stationed out in the harbor had barricaded most of the main streets to the point where people were even afraid to leave their houses. I'd gone door to door a lot this evening trying to calm people down, but most of them asked where Zuko was and if he was alright. I hadn't told a soul that he'd left the Nation, simply that he was doing his best to try and figure out our position.

I ran through the stats in my muddled, tired mind yet again. After Katara had chained Azula to the grate over the water supply, she and Zuko had thought it fitting to make a similar place for her down in one of the deepest, darkest prisons of the nation. Her room had been surrounded by water, and she'd been chained to a metal grate where if she made the slightest movement, water began to fill the room. Her inner flame made the liquid evaporate, so she would have never been in any real danger, but it was enough to keep her somewhat calm.

She'd escaped by melting her way through the chains and bursting up through the water-filled ceiling. Her body heat must have been unspeakably high for such a feat. I worried my bottom lip between my teeth as I continued to think about what I could do. It scared me that they were just sitting out there in the harbor. Wouldn't they try and move in on the city soon? Or was Azula waiting for some kind of sign from her brother before she started decimating the careful peace he had worked so hard to establish?

Everyone kept saying we needed Zuko for something like this, and honestly, it insulted me a little. Not only was he after my ex, he was the hero in this situation. I knew I'd had my time in the limelight, so to speak, but the selfishness brewing in my heart startled me. I wasn't used to such emotions. Iroh had assured me that having these negative thoughts was just a sign that I was growing up, but I hated it. If that was how adults thought all the time, the world should seriously be ruled by kids. At least we'd make sure everyone had a good time.

"I've just received word from my nephew." I hadn't realized General Iroh had been behind me, and at first, the sound of his voice in the otherwise silent room made me jump. I turned to face him with wide eyes.

"Did he find Katara?" I could hope.

"Yes, he did, and tomorrow morning they'll be on the first ship back to the harbor. I'll have to get a message to the captain of the vessel so that they come to the back harbor behind the palace in order to avoid the mess out front." He joked a little, reaching over to clap his hand onto my shoulder. I sagged with relief. At last, Katara would be home safe, and I could finally talk to her in person about what all of this was about. Maybe we could even work it so that the engagement was back on.

"Iroh, do you think she'll want to talk to me?" I asked somewhat meekly, knowing that the older man would give me good advice in this situation. He sighed a little, his eyes skimming the page he held in his hands once more before tucking it into his robe and sitting down in a chair near me.

"Aang, you two have been through a lot together and I'm sure that she'll want to preserve the friendship between you two. But believe me when I say that when a woman runs from a man, she usually doesn't want to be found by the one she's running from."

The words stung more than I thought they would. Part of me had been expecting them, honestly, but-

Wait a second.

"By the one she's running from? Does that mean she wanted to be found by someone else?" My voice was somewhat brash, and the emotion was suddenly choking me. Had there been someone else? Had she been disloyal to me?

"Listen to me, Aang. Katara has never been disloyal to anyone in her whole life, and I can assure you, she was more than loyal to you. I don't know if she wanted to be found by anyone at all." He got up somewhat abruptly and left the room, leaving me to wonder if Katara had simply had enough of life with me and those she was closest to and felt she had to uproot in order to be happy.

But that didn't seem like her at all.

"General Iroh, isn't the back harbor under Azula's command too?" I called after him, my mind finally drifting away from the blue eyed girl. Iroh nodded somewhat stiffly.

"But I'm sure you can fix that, can't you, Avatar?" His words echoed in the hall around me as I suddenly saw myself for the quivering coward that I was. There was a reason everyone was waiting for Zuko to come rescue them; because he would actually do something to save them from this nightmare.

I got to my feet. I had to clear the harbor before the ship arrived in two days, and I had to somehow formulate a plan to get those hot heads off of Zuko's back porch.

iroh.

The letter in my hands was proof of something far bigger than just the arrival times of my nephew and Katara. It was a declaration that he'd been successful in more than one way; that he'd found something he'd been searching for his entire life and they had both finally come together. Part of me was overjoyed at this, and part of me was frightened for them. Aang was far too fragile for something like this right now, especially considering our delicate situation.

But beyond that, the people of the Fire Nation were far too raw to accept something this radical. The council had been discussing marrying Zuko to a wealthy well-to-do woman of their choosing, and no matter how many times I stood against it, they always continued on with the idea. They'd been skeptical at Katara's presence, let alone making her the High Ambassador between us and the Water Nation. They sniffed at her every time she so much as entered a room.

Katara had to watch her back as it was when she walked in our cities, which is why my nephew or myself so often accompanied her everywhere. I bent over, feeding the letter to the flames in my fireplace and watching the words burn before my eyes.

After being broken for so long, my nephew was finally healing.

Would the world prove too young for something this deeply intimate and rip his heart from his chest? I only hoped that he had the good sense to wait out telling anyone besides myself about this powerful new development.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I only got 2 reviews for the last one, & a very special thank you to my two guest reviewers!

Please please please review this chapter, I would absolutely love to have at least 5 reviews before I update again!(:

Thank you all so much!

love,

~nightfall26