chapter twenty-four
the following day was, coincidentally, the most beautiful day of the year for the Fire Nation. the air was warm, not a cloud in the sky, and the small breeze of spring made it more comforting as the newly blossomed trees and flowers swayed to the beat of the sky. with summer approaching on the horizon children were playing outside in yards, ecstatic for school to end so that they could go to the beaches and spend time with their families.
for the Royal Palace this meant preparing for summer festivities, switching out seasonal decorations displayed along the palace, and cleaning up from the aftermath of the Fire Lords honored guests. what was supposed to be the welcoming of an formerly banished citizen and an important meeting for team Avatar suddenly became a week of unwanted surprises and mourning.
the main receiver of these painful occurrences had yet to see this beautiful day. she remained asleep throughout the busy morning, completely oblivious to the loud commotion surrounding the room she slept in.
her boyfriend sat on the edge of the bed, watching how peaceful she looked as she slept. in a totally non-creepy way by the way. he just didn't want to wake her up quite yet. a number of things had corrupted her this past week, leaving a permanent look of sadness on her face whenever she was awake. he just wanted to see her in a state of peace.
Yanmei didn't wake up until around noon. at that point the sun peaked threw the windows enough to wake her from her much needed slumber. feeling a hand intertwined with hers, she opened her eyes to see Sokka looking down at her with a soft smile.
"good morning, well actually good afternoon now. I probably should've woke you up for breakfast but I knew you needed some sleep"
Yanmei's lips curled up a tiny bit at his soft nature towards her. with the others he would've woken them up immediately and probably yelled at then to get up, but with her he was always so gentle and kind.
"I wouldn't have minded... though I do mind the fact that you were watching me sleep," a soft smirk fell on her lips, "creeper"
Sokka blushed. he didn't realize she knew that he was watching her, "I-I'm not a creeper! I was just...I thought you looked cute and ended up admiring you for a while"
"mhm, and that just so happened to be for a couple hours"
"it wasn't two hours...more like...thirty minutes give or take a minute or two"
Yanmei laughed, "you're a total creeper. i'm going to tell Katara"
"am not!"
"are to!"
Sokka couldn't help but raise their hands to kiss her knuckles, then bend down to give her a loving kiss on the lips.
"what was that for?" Yanmei grinned. she'd take a kiss like that any day of the week.
"you smiled. I haven't seen you smile like that in a while"
those simple two sentences almost brought her to tears. he was right, she hadn't genuinely smiled she talked with Ursa on the night of the Blood Moon, and that was almost a week ago. because after that she felt as if she was in a living hell.
unfortunately after that her smile fell. with the urge to cry still there she clutched the fabric of her shirt at her stomach, "it doesn't... feel real. it's like a part of me is just gone. like there's nothing left of the years I spent away"
he kissed her forehead gently before moving her hands on her stomach and rest his head there, intertwining his hands with hers, "I never truly understand what you're feeling, but understand that i'll always be here. i'll take care of you and protect you"
Yanmei squeezed his hands as a tear fell down her cheek, "I look forward to it; you being by my side forever"
his mind wandered to what her heard her say to Ursa earlier that week. the confession that took over his mind and made his heart flutter.
"till death do us part..." he whispered ever so softly, a heavy blush on his cheeks.
"did you say something?" Yanmei asked, oblivious to what he said for how quiet his voice was.
Sokka cleared his throat and sat up, "nope. I didn't say anything"
she didn't believe him at all but she was too drained to ask about it more. she sighed, her head falling onto his shoulder and she wrapped her arms around his torso, "can we just stay in bed today? I don't want to go out there"
Sokka hugged her right with his left arm while the right held her head on his shoulder, "I wish we could, but we have to head back home. we've already overstayed what we had planned"
"okay," she whispered, closing her eyes as she inhaled his sweet scent and held onto him just a bit longer. being like this, just holding him and being close to him was the best comfort she could ever get.
truthfully, any place was home as long as he was with her. they could leave to go to the middle of the Si Wong desert, and as long as she had him she would call it her home.
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as Yanmei packed her belongings she brought for their trip she felt a wave of nostalgia. being in the same room she slept in as a child, leaving after troubling times, it all felt familiar to her. but not necessarily in a god way.
right as she finished stuffing the last couple of accessories into her bag she heard a hard knock on her door. telling them to come in, she was greeted with the person that made this nostalgia to come full circle.
"are you ready?" Zuko spoke. the look in his eyes was unreadable to most, but Yanmei knew him well, so she knew that his mind was battling something.
"yeah i'm done," she turned around and leaned her body against her bed, "now tell me what's bothering you"
Zuko chuckled nervously, "you know me too well"
"well we did spend the first seventeen years of our lives together so I can confidently say that I know the Fire Lord pretty well. and I know when something is on your mind, so just tell me"
Zuko didn't move from his spot at the door, which led Yanmei to know that whatever it was, it was important to him.
"I know I said that we should keep our distance, but I want you to know that doesn't mean I don't worry about you. and after what happen... I just wanted to check up on you, because I know you well too, and so know that you won't admit to anyone, not even Sokka, that you're hurting"
Yanmei pressed her lips into a thin line, knowing damn well that his words were the truth, "i'm forever grateful for you, Zuko, but I don't think this hurt is something you all can understand, let alone fix"
"just... don't push everyone away this time. let them help, let Sokka help you the way I have before. i've tried to protect you since the day I was born, but now that we're adults, i've learned that you don't need me anymore even if I don't want to fully believe it myself. I just want you to live your life without me holding you back"
Yanmei was silent for a moment, giving her time to process all that her friend said, "Zuko this really sounds like you're breaking up with me"
it took everything in the Fire Lord to not start laughing, which Yanmei had already started to do. she couldn't help but say it, she didn't want to feel sad and she needed something to lighten the mood.
"my teenage self would be confused and devastated by that statement," he cleared his throat and watched her continue to laugh. it brought a smile to his lips, "your smile suits you well. I think everyone can agree that seeing you happy is all we want"
Yanmei stopped laughing, but the smile never left, "that's all I want too. maybe one day i'll receive that eternal happiness i've been looking for"
Zuko nodded. that's all he wanted for her too. he then grabbed her bags off the bed and nudged her arm, "you won't get if if you stay here forever. now come on, your boyfriend and the others are waiting for you"
she whispered an 'okay' before following him out of her room and towards their group at the front of the gates of the palace.
she was greeted by a kiss on the head by Sokka. Zuko and Ursa said goodbye to everyone, and Ursa gave Yanmei an extra long hug. the mother promised to visit Yanmei on her wedding day which caused the younger girl to blush madly.
with one final goodbye, Yanmei, Sokka, Aang, Katara, and Toph rode to the boating docks where their ship awaited. according to Sokka, one of the perks of having the Firelord as a friend was having a custom built ship made just in time for their departure. the ship was made with metal like the Fire Nation's, but it was decked out in Water Tribe fashion.
shortly the ship was ready to leave the port, and everyone on team Avatar left for their designated areas or their rooms. well, all except for Yanmei. she stood near the point of the ship as she took in her childhood home one last time before they left. from her spot she had a perfect view of an empty field up on a mountain, only one lone tree was rooted in the 5 acre lot.
as she watched the islands and of the Fire Nation slowly get smaller it felt as if a weight had been listed off her chest. but the hole in her heart from that place stayed, in fact it had gotten bigger. it had grown with every event that happened these past 10 days.
and with each second that passed she felt her throat tighten. she could barely breath, but she was itching to let out a sound. that is, until she screamed.
and then everything became numb.