Part four 'Mirrors' spans the period between The Crossroads of Destiny and the Western Air Temple. It consists of eleven short entries or 'shards'
Part 4 - Mirrors - Shard 1/11 - Fallout
Zuko looked on as Katara walked away down into the cavern, side by side with the Avatar, his eyes following her as she disappeared into the dark. The empty feeling that plagued him every time he watched her leave, returned with a vengeance. She had no obligation to him, that he knew, but her touch still lingered on his scar. Like a void poured from a jug, it filled him until his chest felt like an expanse of nothingness. He had broken his vow to himself and this emptiness was the price he would have to pay for it Then Azula appeared up requesting his aid, she now stands before him, promising everything that would fill it.
…
The Avatar was down, she drew his limp body close as she stumbled along the stone floor in an attempt to get away from him. He runs toward her but her tear-filled cerulean eyes find his and she might as well have frozen him in place. Loss, fear, betrayal, all of it, sit in that one look. Seeing her look at him that way made it feel like something shattered in his chest. He could do nothing as the water swirled around her lifting her off the ground, up out of his reach.
What had he done?
…
The sound of rushing water subsided splashing down onto the street around her. Aang's dead weight hung limply from her grip. His sweat and dirt-covered skin cooled too quickly under her touch. She needed to get moving, hefting the airbender onto her back she took weighted steps away from the palace. She needed to be seen from the air without being found by the Dai Li. How much time had Iroh bought them? How could she be so stupid? Believing in a promise from a Fire Nation Prince? Look what it had gotten her. She knew better, so why did it make her chest ache?
Not nearly soon enough a large shadow passes over her and the air around her swirls, floating locks of her hair, pulling her from her thoughts and whipping at her clothes.
"Katara!"
Her brother's familiar voice calls down to her, they quickly land and she drags herself over to Appa.
"What happened to Aang?" Sokka looks at the two of them with worry.
"Where's Iroh?" Toph questions from behind him.
What was she going to tell them?
…
She corners him in a hall below decks and backs him up against the metal walls. The softness of her kiss stands in sharp contrast to the aggression of her actions. Once again he's thirteen and all of the subtle glances, gratuitous touches, and awkward exchanges finally make sense. His fleeting convergences with her may have unearthed all of these yearnings he had tried to bury, but Mai stands before him promising to fulfill them. He lets his hands rest on her waist and kisses her back letting himself melt into all the things he told himself he could never have. Yet it does nothing for the near-permanent ache that has taken residence in his chest.
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