Sorry that this came really late. Lately my motivation has been down lately but I hope you like this chapter.
Back at Iroh's home, Zuko finished boiling his jasmine tea. He made sure to follow the recipe his uncle gave him. The fire bender had already gone through his letters from his advisors in the fire nation, informing him of the current events in Caldera during his absence. It wouldn't be long until he needed to go back home. His nation needed him there after all, but Zuko did not want to leave his uncle and friends yet. He especially did not want to leave without seeing Mai once more.
Ty Lee had promised to help him win back Mai's affection, but he would not know for sure if Mai would reciprocate his feelings. He pondered over what to do until he heard a knock at the front door. Placing the tea kettle on the kitchen counter, he went to open the door.
Pulling the door open, Zuko's eyes widened as he found Mai standing there with her arms crossed.
"Mai!" Zuko smiled.
"Fire Lord", Mai responded with a flat tone.
"Y-you're here…how are you?" Zuko stammered as he tried to regain his composure.
"Fine. Is Aang here?"
"Oh um no he's not", Zuko frowned. He had hoped that she came to speak with him. "He's out with Katara."
"Of course he is", Mai groaned and threw her head back, "Came all this way just for him to be somewhere else."
"You came here to apologize to him right? For what happened between you two."
Mai glanced away, "that isn't your business to know."
"I believe it is considering you two were arguing about me", Zuko crossed his arms.
Mai narrowed her eyes at him, "even so, it doesn't mean I have to tell you anything."
"Okay fine" Zuko raised his hands up, "don't tell me. I still want to talk to you."
"I'm aware", she rolled her eyes, "Ty informed me already just how desperate you are."
"Then you know how serious I am. I love you and that will never change. I'll do whatever it takes for us to be together again."
"As you've said before during our last encounter…and Ty Lee already went out of her way to emphasize that to me."
"She did?" Zuko inquired.
"Yes. Somehow you and that meat loving idiot managed to convince her", Mai said with an annoyed tone, "but just because she believed you doesn't mean that I fully do. Your past actions speak louder than the words you speak."
The fire bender dropped his arms and clenched his fists. He had thought about what else he could do to show Mai just how willing he was to do anything for her. For Zuko, there was no task too big or too daunting to accomplish. Hence what he said next…
"Mai…I would give up being the fire lord if it meant that we could be together again."
Her mouth agape at his words until she recomposed herself and let out a scoff, "As if you would do something so reckless. The fire nation needs you to be its leader."
"And I need you Mai. I can't think straight without you by my side. I know I am being unreasonable, but I'll do anything for you. I stake my honor on that."
"Pfft", Mai scoffed again, "here you go again with your honor…"
Zuko grimaced when she turned her back to him and crossed her arms again. Thinking she was going to leave; he reached his hand out to her shoulder and stepped closer to her to close the space between them.
"All I ask you for is one chance…one shot to prove to you how serious I am about us. About you." He whispered into her ears. Mai pressed her nails on her arms after hearing his raspy voice so close to her. She immediately shrugged his hand off and moved away from Zuko.
"Tell Aang that I wish to speak with him", Mai said without looking at him.
"Fine", Zuko said with a defeated tone.
"Zuko" she finally glanced back at him.
"Yes?"
"…One shot. I'll give you that much. I'm staying the Regal Bear Suites. Come by tomorrow."
"Really?" Zuko elatedly asked.
She finally turned back to him, "Only because Ty Lee asked me to. You disappoint me again and I will leave you in her hands."
The fire bender instantly remembered what Ty Lee had said to him and Sokka earlier. She wouldn't kill him, but he would wish that she did. A quick shiver ran up his spine. He previously didn't want to know what Ty Lee would do to him but now he really did.
"D-did she happen to say what she'd do? Not that I will repeat what I did! I—i…I'm just curious", Zuko stuttered.
Mai only gave him a small smirk before she turned her back to him once more and began heading off.
"See you tomorrow."
"Is it just me or have we run into that merchant before?" Katara asked.
"So you think so too huh?", Aang replied, "I feel like we always see that same cabbage merchant everywhere we go."
"And he was glaring at us too. You'd think we would have said to him that his cabbages were rotten", Katara giggled.
"Normally people are happy to see us but for some reason he isn't", Aang shrugged, "I don't remember doing anything to offend him, but I guess there are people who won't like you no matter who you are."
"Guess we'll never know" Katara responded.
After their disastrous encounter with Jian Suya, Aang and Katara resumed their date. They stopped at numerous food stalls and ate whatever looked the most appetizing. They walked around and simply conversed with one another like they used to. They had stopped at a plaza where a small band played music. Katara pulled Aang to the center and the two danced together until they couldn't anymore.
Aang felt a sense of relief as the date went on. With Katara, he could be calm and relax without feeling a heavy weight on his shoulders. The past few days had not been ideal for either of them, so it was nice just to be together with each other and have no worries.
They finally decided to head back to the house so that there would be time to discuss with their friends about the missing villagers.
"I had a really good time Katara", Aang said as they walked together.
"Me too" Katara agreed. She still had arm wrapped around his, resting her head on his shoulder. She would not have minded if their date went on, but she knew that the missing villagers had to be a priority for them. The sooner Aang informed the rest of their friends then the sooner they could rest and be prepared.
They finally arrived at the house and entered to see Toph, Suki, Zuko and Sokka lounging around in the living room. The girls smirked at the water bender, seeing how she held on to Aang. Katara reluctantly let go of his arm.
"Have fun?" Sokka teased.
"We did", Aang replied, "but right now we need to discuss an urgent matter with you all."
Katara noticed the Kyoshi warrior sending her a look, conveying that she would want to hear details. She mouth the words "later" just as Zuko spoke up.
"What is it?" the fire bender asked.
"A few villages down south have reported a lot of their people going missing so Kuei asked if we could head over there and figure out what is going on." Aang answered.
"Any chance this might be some spiritual mumbo jumbo?" Sokka inquired.
"It's a possibility", Aang shrugged, "could be like the incident with Hei Bai. We should head out tomorrow and find out."
"I'm down. Been cooped up in Ba Sing Se so I wouldn't mind getting out" said Toph. Suki and Sokka agreed.
"Hopefully this time I won't end up in the spirit world like before", Sokka muttered.
"Great! We can all leave tomorrow morning", Katara said.
"I um…can't" Zuko spoke up.
"Why not?" Aang asked.
"I'm going to see Mai tomorrow. She came by earlier looking for you, wanting to speak with you and she told me to come by", Zuko explained.
The air bender hadn't thought about Mai since he went over to her hotel room. He had not forgotten how he had lost control of himself and went into the avatar state. He reprimanded himself for allowing Mai's words to push him to such anger. It was no wonder his past lives had become concerned about him.
He would have to remember to make time to speak with her since she wanted to speak with him. He knew already that she would want to talk about what happened.
"That's great Zuko!" Katara exclaimed.
"She said she would give me a chance to prove myself", the fire bender turned to Aang, "I hope you don't mind but I'm sure all of you can handle this without me."
"Don't worry about it hotman", Aang smiled, "I'm happy for you."
"So just the five of us? We should start packing any essentials we'll need", Suki suggested.
They all agreed. Before the air bender could pack what he needed, he decided to check on Appa and make sure he was being fed properly. By the time Aang went out the door, Suki grabbed both the other two girls and raced for Katara's bedroom.
Aang found Appa resting in the stable and approached him. He hadn't had the chance to speak with him since the incident at the bridge and he wanted to tell his friend about his date with Katara.
"Hey buddy", he called out. The air bison groaned in response.
"You hungry?" Aang asked and pulled out some hay from the side for Appa.
"Rrrrrr"
"Here you go" he laid the stack of hay out for Appa who was more than happy to chow down.
"I went on a blind date with Katara today", Aang told him.
"Rrrr?" Appa groaned as he chewed through his meal.
"Well it was a bit of a surprise for me too. I didn't expect it but I'm happy I went along with it…even if it got interrupted by Suya."
"Rrrrrrr?"
"Another stuck up noble that wanted me to marry one of his daughters. He's as stubborn as they come. Luckily Katara dealt with him for me, and we ran off."
"Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr."
"Yeah she is awesome."
"Rrrrrrrrrrrrr."
"It was just one date Appa. I enjoyed spending time with Katara but…I don't know if I'm ready for that."
"Rrrrrrrrrrrrrr."
"I'm not trying to shut myself off from her. It's just after everything that's happened…I don't know what else to do. It's hard to think about."
"Rrrrrr. Rrrrrrrrrrr." Appa nodded his head towards the stable entrance. Aang turned around to see a familiar face leaning on the stable door.
Back in the house, the girls sat in Katara's bedroom. Suki had plenty of questions for the water bender, so she told her and toph everything from the beginning to end.
"Yikes, I've heard of the Suya clan before. Stubborn isn't enough to describe just how nuts that whole family is", Toph commented.
"I can't believe how someone could barge in like that and not read the atmosphere. What a tool" Suki added.
"Jian is a piece of work alright", Katara agreed, "I'm just glad Aang wanted to keep our date going. Would have been a terrible way to end our date."
"I wish Aang would have just talked to us about these nobles forcing their daughters on to him." Suki said with a concerned tone.
"I can understand why he wouldn't wanna talk about it. If snobby earth nobles see an opportunity for power then they won't take no for an answer so easily", Toph replied, "It hasn't been that long since the war ended and now he's dealing with people pressuring him to get started on reproducing the next generation of air benders. Aang doesn't deserve that at all."
"No" Katara agreed, "he doesn't. Our date went fine but I still wish it didn't get interrupted by that man. Aang has done enough for the world and should be allowed to do what he wishes."
"So what happens next? Go on another date after we find the missing villagers?" Suki inquired.
"I don't know yet, but I think being at his side should be enough for now. He didn't say it, but I know Aang doesn't trust me, at least with his heart. I'm not going to rush him either. I need to prove to him that I'm not going to hurt him. I'll be there for him when he needs me and maybe in time, he'll trust me again."
"I'm sure it will all work out just fine. Maybe the mission we have tomorrow could help bring you two closer." Toph insisted and punched Katara's arm.
Before either of them could say anything else, they all heard Aang calling for everyone. The girls went back to the living room where Sokka and Zuko stood with Aang. The water tribe warrior and the fire lord looked to the girls with pursed lips. Something was up.
"What now Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked.
"I got good news", Aang grinned, "Someone else will be joining us tomorrow."
Katara noticed Toph go stiff but before she could ask what was wrong, a figure from behind Aang stepped up and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
Katara's eyes widened.
"Lovely dress Katara", Kano complimented, winking at her.
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