DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN, NOR HAVE I EVER OWNED ATLA. I DO NOT OWN, NOR HAVE I EVER OWNED THE CHARACTERS IN ATLA. I DO NOT OWN, NOR HAVE I EVER OWNED NICKELODEON. HAVE NO AFFILIATION, NOR HAVE I EVER HAD ANY AFFILIATION WITH THE WRITERS OR ANIMATORS OF ATLA. I HAVE NO AFFILIATION, NOR HAVE I EVER HAD ANY AFFILIATION WITH NICKELODEON.

I have written prequels to Together Again, they are part of what I call my TAU (Together Again Universe) here is a list of them along with its Summary

A Second First Date; Aang wants to take Katara out for the perfect date, their first date was so bad Aang want's this one to be perfect… Aang wants to take Katara out for the perfect date, their first date was so bad Aang want's this one to be perfect… You don't always get a second chance.

Nightmares; A One-Shot Prequel to Together Again. Aang saved the world, he faced Ozai on his own. Everyone kept saying that he was a great hero, that he was so brave. He wore a brave face and acted all the hero they thought he was. But at night in his sleep he was a scared boy, scared for his life as he tried to get away from a psycho Firebender. The Battle came back at night.

Anila's Story; She was ready to travel the world the moment she turned 16. Little did she know, life never goes as expected and that a young Airbending Master just starting out on her own is no exception. Will the winds of change bring her happiness and fulfillment? Or will she only to bed led to sorrow and regret?

I have a new collection of One-shots called Dear Diary: They are Katara's thoughts that take place during the time they traveled the world before the Hundred Year War ended.

Other stories I am currently working on (Together Again Universe are marked as TAU)

A Warrior's Path; Suki wants to be the best warrior she can be and follow in her mother's footsteps. Life comes with so many choices to make, will she always make the right choice? Will life teach her to be the best leader she can be or is there something else in store for her?

Across the Wastelands; (TAU) Aang is sent on a journey by King Bumi… One that only he can take… To search for something very important, except Bumi wouldn't tell him what he needed to find! What will he find? (Completed, takes place during Chapter 132)

Chapter 133

"Taryn I groomed you to marry a man of high stature, I have received many offers for you. Why can't you just accept one and live in luxury and wealth?" Taryn's mother asked her.

"Because I don't even know who any of these men are." Taryn was getting really frustrated with her mother, there was just no talking to her.

"You met them all at that ball we held last summer, very wealthy men looking for a wife." Dyna told her.

"All those men I met?! They were all old and ugly." Taryn said.

"Well the tea server is ugly, his scar is hideous… how did he even get it?" Her mother asked.

"I don't know he never told me and it's not my business to ask." Taryn snapped. "It doesn't even matter anyways I love him, and I think he is very handsome Mother! Why can't you just leave me alone about this?"

"Dyna!" Taryn's father emerged from his study, "We talked about this, you are to let me raise her as I see fit. I like Lee, he is a kind man, and he is already a great father."

"Thank you so much Daddy." Taryn ran to her father and hugged him tightly.

"Come into my office so we can talk." He guided Taryn down the hall, Dyna tried to follow but he shut and locked the door before she could enter.

"You really do love him don't you?" Her father asked.

"I do, and I love his daughter Ursa, she is such a sweet little girl." Taryn told him.

"Then I'm happy for you and I will support any decision you make about him." He told her as he hugged her. "I love you and I'll do my best to keep your mother at bay."

"I need to go get dressed, we are going to have a picnic in the park." Taryn quickly ran to her bedroom to get dressed.

…

Zuko was rushing about trying not to be late for his date with Taryn, he had Ursa already dressed and ready, he had braided her hair but it was already starting to fall out. He didn't have time to pack a lunch so he was just going to pick up a to-go hot lunch from a restaurant, Taryn's choice.

"Ready?" He asked his daughter.

"Ready!" She said, he picked her up and placed her on his shoulders and walked out the door of his upper ring home. Then walked all the way to Taryn's home in the middle ring near the Marketplace.

Zuko knocked on the door, after only a few moments the door opened. Dyna was standing in front of him, her arms folded in front of her and a scowl on her face. "Hello." Zuko said with a smile.

"Taryn your tea server is here." She yelled, she didn't even return his greeting.

"One minute." He heard Taryn call from upstairs.

"Come in." Dyna told him, "You can wait inside."

"Thank you ma'am." Zuko smiled.

"Thank you!" Ursa said as her daddy set her on the chair next to the door. Doth waited patiently for Taryn.

A noise at the top of the stairs caught his attention, he smiled widely as he watched Taryn come trotting down the stairs, her brown curls bounced softly with each little quick step. "You look beautiful." Zuko told her.

"Thank you!" She grinned and blushed at the same time. "I'll be back later, Daddy, Mama."

They walked out of the nice home and headed towards the park, Ursa was holding Taryn's hand as they walked. "So…uuummmm… What would you like for lunch, it's kind of a special occasion so ANYWHERE you want to get food from we can." Zuko told her.

She stopped and bent down to look at Ursa, "What would the pretty little Princess like to eat?"

"Really? I get to choose?!" Ursa giggled. "I want kabobs!"

"That sounds like a great idea!" Taryn smiled at the little girl. "I would like to have Kabobs too!"

"Then we will go get a basket full of all different kinds of kabobs." Zuko said with a smile, it wasn't hard to love Taryn.

They got their lunch then went to a nearby park, they walked hand in hand; they went to their favorite place, a hill with a tree at the top of it. This was where they had their first picnic, and returned to this spot every time. They sat and ate as Ursa picked dandelions to make wishes on, like Taryn had showed her.

"Daddy, can I please go play now?" Ursa asked him.

"Yes, Princess you may play but stay where I can see you." He told her.

"Okay Daddy Thank you!" She called as she ran around chasing butterflies.

He turned his attention to Taryn. "I love you so much."

Taryn scooted next to him. "I love you with all my heart, Lee." She told him, her green eyes staring into his golden eyes, then brushed his scare with the back of her knuckles. His eyes shifted from her eyes to his hands and Taryn could tell something wasn't right. "Is there something wrong Lee?"

"I... I need to talk to you... I... I have something to tell you... And something to ask you." He sighed. "I... We, Ursa and I, have to back home..." His eyes dropped to the blades of grass he was picking then tossing them off to the side. "I love you, you know that right?" He asked her.

Her eyes began to sting from the tears she was trying to hold back.

"But! But... I want to ask you to come with me, with us." He told her as he looked deeply into her green eyes.

"You… You want me to move to the Fire Nation?" She said in shock. "I would have to find a place to live and a job to support myself." Taryn responded. "I don't even know what kind of work would be available for a girl like me."

Zuko's eyes began to drop down to look at the grass in between his fingers as he ripped more blades out of the hillside. "Well... you won't need a job if you live with me."

"I... I can't what will people think? You and I living together, unmarried." Taryn said as she began to turn several different shades of red.

"Well... We could get married..." He told her.

"Wh...What?! Are... Are you asking me... to... to marry you?!" Taryn was stunned, she felt like her whole body had gone numb.

"Well..." Even Zuko hadn't realized he said it until now. "I guess I am." He smiled widely. "Will you be my wife, my love, and my life? I don't exactly have anything to give you right now... but I will give you something when we get to The Fire Nation!"

Taryn's smile faded, "I... this is so fast... I don't know what to say... Can I think about it?"

Zuko's smile faded, "Yeah... I shouldn't have asked you. I'm sorry."

The sad look on his face tore at her heart. "I want to! Yes, I want to! I Love you with every bit of myself... It's just scary... I grew up here, leaving will be hard. I don't even know what The Fire Nation is like."

"I promise to give you anything and everything you want! No matter what it is or how much it costs, anything you want!" He promised her.

"ANYTHING I want?" She asked with a small giggle.

"Yes Anything!" He told her.

"YES!" She squealed, wrapping her arms around his neck kissing him deeply.

"I love you with all my heart! You know that right?" He asked her.

"Yes, I know that." She said to him.

"I... I need to tell you something." Zuko was so nervous he thought his hands might erupt in fire.

"You can tell me anything! We are getting married!" She told him.

Zuko took a deep breath, then slowly let it out. "I lied to you about a few things... and I feel like I need to tell you the truth... If you never talk to me again..." Zuko's words broke his heart and her smile. "My name... My name is not Lee."

"Oh..." Taryn frowned for a few moments "Do you have some weird name that you are too embarrassed to say?" She flashed a joking smile at him.

"Have you changed you mind about marrying me?" He asked her, "Because I lied."

She was quiet for a few minutes before saying, "I love YOU! Not your name."

"Okay, please keep that in mind... My name is not Lee... It's Zuko. And I love you with every bit of myself." He told her.

Taryn had a confused look on her face, she knew she had heard that name somewhere before, but then passed it off to be a common name in the fire nation "Zuko... Kinda sounds familiar." She giggled.

"Yeah... it should... It is only part of my name." He told her.

"Only part? I don't know what that means." Taryn told her.

"My full name is... Promise you won't freak out." He pleaded.

"Okay, I... I promise I won't freak out!" She smiled encouragingly at him.

"My full name is," He started again, shutting his eyes tightly, he was so afraid of how she would take it. "Fire Lord Zuko." He dare not open his eyes.

"Oh!" Taryn thought he was joking with her, "That's funny, okay what is your real name?"

He opened his eyes to stare into hers, "I am Fire Lord Zuko." He never broke eye contact with her.

"Uuummmmm... I..." Taryn stood up and looked at Ba Sing Se from her place on the hill. "Was I just a game to you? To see if... If I was stupid enough to believe you are the Fire Lord? Why would you make up such a fantastic lie? You didn't have to tell me you loved me then told me you're the Fire Lord... You know that it's a huge deal with my mother trying to marry my sisters to rich titled men! You could have just said you didn't like me." Her eyes glistened with tears of heartbreak.

"NO! I love you with all my heart! Ursa loves you." He told her.

"Ha ha, Princess Ursa, right?" She had her back to him she didn't know what to say or what to do. "I just don't understand you, how could you be so cruel?! I... I don't want to see you ever again, please just leave me alone." Was the last thing she said to him.

"Okay... Ursa and I will be leaving in a week... please Taryn, I'm not lying to you anymore... This IS the truth. Talk to Iroh at the Jasmine Dragon... He's my uncle he'll tell you where to find me... He'll tell you what time I'm leaving. I Love you and I do want you to be my wife. I want you to be Ursa's mother!" Zuko's voice caught for a moment. "Ursa come on it's time to go back to Uncle's shop." As he watched Taryn walk away his heart felt like it was breaking again.

"But… what about Taryn, Daddy, I love her." The little girl protested.

…

Every day for the last week he checked in with Uncle, to see if Taryn had changed her mind. Zuko was heartbroken, he didn't know what to do. 'Leave her to her own happiness.' He told himself as he made sure everything was ready to be brought to the Palace court yard where his Balloon was being readied for the trip a head.

"Daddy... I miss Taryn!" Ursa said as her father carried her out to the carriage.

"Me too." He said fighting back the tears that burned deep within him. Zuko picked up his daughter and carried her inside the spacious cabin. It was furnished with the finest furniture and rugs. The Fire Lord's Balloon was pretty much a large metal home attached to the bottom of a balloon. Zuko was once again dressed in his royal robes and his golden flame inside his topknot, he had pulled Ursa's hair up and clipped on her tiny golden flame. The men had closed the ramp and were preparing to take off... Zuko waited for it to lift off and start their trip back to the Fire Nation. After about fifteen minutes Zuko was getting frustrated, he walked to the helm to find out why they had not left yet.

"What is taking so long?" He growled at the pilot.

"Sir, they fired off the yellow smoke rocket, we can't leave until the give us the green." The captain told him.

"Why won't they give us the green?" Zuko asked.

"Well sir, it could be that girl running to our balloon." The captain told him.

"What girl?!" Zuko asked as he walked to the window to see what the captain meant. "It's Taryn!" he yelled, "Open the ramp!" He yelled to the men. "OPEN THE RAMP!" he yelled. He ran down the ramp while it was still opening, jumped off the end and ran to Taryn. As soon as he reached her he scooped her up in his arm and spun her around.

"Uuummmmm... Could you put me down? I'm need to talk to you." She told him.

"Oh, okay sorry." He said as he set her down. He wasn't sure what to do with his arms, so he folded them behind his back.

"Lee... I mean...Uuummmmm Fire Lord Zuko, I honestly don't know what to tell you..." She took a deep breath and blew at a stray strand of hair that fell in front of her eyes. "At first... At first I thought you were some nut, and that scared me. I was afraid you might hurt me or something."

"I would never..." He began but she put her fingertip on his lips to quiet him.

"I'm not done you dingbat." She told him, he nodded and let her continue. "Then I thought you had come up with this huge lie to break up with me."

She took another deep breath then continued. "I missed you! We had spent every day together and my heart ached for you. So I did what you told me to, I went to the Jasmine Dragon... I talked to Iroh, he told me how badly I had hurt you... That everything you told me was true. I ran straight here after I finished talking to him. I want to tell you something, I do love you with every bit of myself, and I love Ursa so much, I would love to be her new mother and your wife, if you still want me to." Taryn looked hopefully into his gold eyes, brushing the back of her knuckles over his scar. "I love you, Fire Lord Zuko! I really do."

"Well, if you still want to marry me than there is one thing I need you to swear." He told her as he resituated his arms, folding them across his chest. "Swear you will never call me Fire Lord Zuko again! That you will call me Zuko."

"I swear to call you Zuko." She said jumping up and down.

Zuko picked her up again and spun her around. "I love you so much!" He told her then brought her into a deep kiss. When he pulled away they were both breathing quite heavy, and Taryn was blushing.

"Okay, uuummmmm... I'll go tell the captain we can leave now." Zuko told her as he lead her up the ramp and into the main living area of the Airship.

"I don't have any of my belongings with me." She told him. "I need to say goodbye to my family, my Mother would freak out if I just disappeared."

"Taryn!" Ursa said running to the beautiful young woman.

Taryn picked Ursa up and hugged her tightly, "I'm going to be your new Mommy!" She told the little girl.

"I missed you!" Ursa said.

"I missed you so very much." Taryn told the little girl in her arms.

"We can get your stuff as soon as you want to." Zuko said. "If… if that's okay with you."

Taryn giggled softly at his awkwardness then corrected herself. The sound of her adorkable laugh made him smile. "I need to get my clothes… And I need to tell my family and… My mother! Oh what is she going to say? What is she going to do? "

"That reminds me!" Zuko said then quickly left the room. He went into his room, he had a dress made for her; so she could be dressed like the wife of the Fire Lord should be dressed. He didn't know whether she would be coming with him or not but he wanted to have it just in case she did. He found the large box in his closet. After retrieving it he quickly went back to where he had left his beautiful girls. "I have a gift for you." He told her as he descended the grand staircase that led up to the sleeping quarters.

He set the box down on the small table that all the lounge seating sat around. She untied the ribbon that held it closed then removed the lid. She gasped at the fine black and red silk dress, as she lifted it out of the box. She had no idea what to say.

"Pretty!" Ursa said, catching their attention.

"I agree with the little princess!" Taryn said with a laugh. "It looks so expensive."

"I don't really need to worry all that much about money." Zuko said with a chuckle.

"Oh, I guess not... This... this feels so weird." Taryn said. "I think I need to sit down." Her adrenalin rush was wearing off now and she felt lightheaded.

Zuko quickly went to her and helped her sit down on one of the plush couches. "I'll go make you some tea." He left the room quickly.

Ursa climbed onto the couch and settled herself on Taryn's lap. "I love you, new mommy." Then Ursa rested her head on Taryn's shoulder. "Old Mommy died."

Zuko came back with a tray in his hands, on it were three tea cups, a teapot, a three level tea goodies holder. "Here we go." He said as he set the tray down and began to make her a cup of tea.

She watched him work quickly, she had watched him serve tea and goodies to so many people at the Jasmine Dragon, but this time it felt so different... This time it's not 'Lee' serving her tea, it's Fire

Lord Zuko serving her tea. He crouched down, his royal golden eyes stared directly into her emerald green eyes: he handed her the cup of tea he was holding with a big smile. His smile made her blush a little, she looked down into the cup and that stray hair fell in front of her face again. He reached up and brushed it behind her ear. "You are so beautiful."

Her red face complemented her green eyes. "I... I love you so much." She told him. "Where will I stay until we get married? When will we be getting married?"

"Well, I think we can find you one of the one hundred bedrooms in the Palace." He joked with her. "As for when...Well, whatever you would like, a grand wedding with all the world's leaders in attendance, or a small ceremony with only friends and family… Whatever you choose.

"I... I have many people I want there, but none have the money to make the trip to the Fire Nation." She told him as she nervously played with one of the spoons on the tray.

"I will deal with all of that. I will send one of my Luxury Ships to pick every one of them up and bring them back home afterwards." Zuko told her.

"Can I... Can I ask you who your friend's are that you want there? If you feel I'm being nosey you can tell me."

"No you're not being nosey at all... Actually I hope that one day you will consider them your friends too... My two best friends, Aang and Katara." Zuko told her.

"Aang… As in Avatar Aang?" She was a little surprised "As in ended the one hundred year war be defeating…"

"Ozai." Zuko said casually.

…

A/N Now that you are at the bottom of the page, please take a few moments and leave me a review! The More Reviews I Get the Sooner I'll Update!