I strolled down the streets of Ba Sing Se, aimlessly after visitng the Earth king. I stopped by my uncle's tea shop to say hello.
"Zuko! I didn't know you were coming! Come, take a seat," exclaimed Iroh, quickly walking over to me with a kettle of tea. "What brings you here to Ba Sing Se?"
He poured some tea for me and I explained that I had some business to take care of with the Earth king.
"Now, Zuko, are you sure that is the real reason why you came here? I'm sure you would have brought Aang and your friends with you, too, if that was really the only thing you were trying to do," said Iroh.
I sighed and placed my tea down. "Uncle...I have a problem. Is it wrong to be in love with someone you can't be with? Like perhaps....A girl that is already in love with one of your friends?"
Iroh laughed and took a seat at the table. "Oh Zuko, of course it is! These things are natural. Now...If you don't mind me asking, who is this girl you speak of?"
I hesitated at first, but I knew I could trust my uncle, and I thought that maybe he could give me advice. "Katara. I'm in love with Katara."
Suddenly, my uncle's smile faded away. He looked concerned. "Zuko...She's with the Avatar, though. You don't want something like this to damage your relationship with the Avatar, especially now that you are Fire Lord."
I sulked in my seat and deeply regretted leaving Katara that note. For one, I really hoped that only Katara had seen it. Suddenly, worry started to cloud my thoughts. What if she didn't like me? I would I ever be able to face her again? And what if she told the rest of the gang? Sokka and Aang would sure be mad, and Toph would torture me for sure.
All of a sudden, I heard a large animal grunting outside. That had to be....Appa.
I looked through the window and to my surprise, I saw Appa as I suspected, with Katara jumping off his back. She softly pet Appa, telling him to stay put, and made her way into the tea shop. I tried hide myself by looking away, but my uncle had already left my table to greet her.
"He's over here, Katara," pointed Iroh, leading her to my table.
"Thank you! Could you bring me some tea, Iroh?" asked Katara, as she neared my table.
"I'll get right on that!" exclaimed my uncle, heading off to the back of the shop.
Katara took a seat across from me and looked at me until we made eye contact.
"Zuko...Let's talk outside," she said, as we made our way outside and stood near Appa.
"I'm sorry I put you through this Katara, you really should get back. I realized the mistake I made by leaving you that note and I shouldn't have done that," I aplologized.
"Zuko...I have a confession to make," she said. "I love Aang but...things have not been working out that well lately. We are barely spending any time together because he is always attending to other people, and by the time he's done with all that, the day's already over. I just don't have the relationship with him that I had before."
"When I saw your note, I was hesitant at first because Aang loves me and I know I mean a lot to him, but I want someone who is there to always care for me and love me unconditionally, and always makes sure that he makes time for me no matter what. The whole way here I realized how much you've done for me, and how much you mean to me, and I don't want to miss out on a chance to be with you. Zuko...I...I....I love you."
This was a lot to register in my head at first. I had prepared myself for the worst, thinking that Katara would stick with Aang and painfully reject me. At that point, I thought that everything would go back to normal when we would return, but now...She loves me. She is in LOVE with me. How am I supposed to tell Aang? Would we have to keep this a secret?
"Katara....I didn't even see this coming. I just don't know how this will affect Aang and everyone back home. How are we supposed to tell them---"
All of a sudden, she pulled her lips close to mine, and they softly touched as we kissed. I kissed her back passionately, thinking this may be the only time that I could ever be able to kiss her in my life again.
"Katara, I don't know how we are going to manage, but I think first we should get home before the gang gets too worried," I said.
She nodded, and sighed, as she lifted herself up onto Appa. I stood in the doorway and waved to my uncle, who happily waved back.
I hopped onto Appa, and steered him and Katara back to Omashu
