It's been a few days since the night we had dinner at Song's house. Also the night we stole their ostrich horse, who I named Mirai, which means future. I called her that because she is part of our future now. As we traveled from village to village, we soon noticed that Kai and Mirai formed a friendship, and wherever the one went, the other followed.

We traveled to an Earth Kingdom village and we are now sitting on a straw mat in the street. Mirai was lying behind us, resting with Kai lying on her back, also resting. Zuko was wearing his hat while sitting with his arms crossed and moping, while Iroh was begging for money, holding his hat upside down for people to throw the money in. I didn't like that we were begging for money, but rather that than stealing.

While Iroh was begging, Zuko moping and the animals resting, I was sitting in the middle of the two firebenders, busy making accessories with the sea shells I picked up on the beach before we became fugitives. I was finishing making a blue crown when a villager walking past us. "Spare coins for weary travelers?" Iroh asked him before he walked past us. The villager nodded before throwing some copper coins in Iroh's hat.

"Thank you!" I called out to the villager as he walked away. Zuko growled under his breath while glaring with his arms still crossed. "This is humiliating! We're royalty! These people should be giving us whatever we want." He moaned, making Iroh and I sigh at him. "They will if you ask nicely." Iroh said with a small smile. "You're not royalty anymore." I reminded Zuko and placed a small starfish on the crown, along with two medium shells, and finished the crown with very small, fake white pearls.

Zuko huffed at me before looking down at the now finished crown. "What are you doing?" He asked me with a slight frown. "I'm making accessories!" I answered with a bright smile and started braiding black strings into a choker necklace, with small white shells hanging on it. "From your sea shells you picked up?" He asked surprised. "Yes!" I answered, my smiling not breaking once.

Before Zuko could say anything else, a young beautiful woman walked past us. She almost walked away when Iroh's voice stopped her. "Spare change for a hungry old man?" Iroh asked her for some money with a puppy face. She smiled kindly down at him before taking a coin out of her sleeve. "Aw, here you go." She said and dropped the coin in the hat. Iroh smiled brightly at the coin before looking up with a cheeky smile.

"The coin is appreciated, but not as much as your smile!" Iroh said with a cheeky smile. Zuko facepalmed himself, while my eyes widen in shock at Iroh's words to the woman. The woman luckily just giggled at Iroh and was about to walk again, when my sea shell crown caught her eye. "This is beautiful!" She said and picked it up. "Did you make this?" She asked me as she examined the blue crown.

"Yes, do you like it?" I asked her with a shy smile. "I love it!" She answered before looking to me with excited eyes. "Do you have anything else made from sea shells?" I nodded yes to her question and took out my other sea shell accessories I've made, from necklaces to crowns to hair clips and combs. She inspected each and every one of them before catching me by surprise.

"How much for them?"

Before I could even answer or object, Zuko jumped in. "Silver pieces." He answered, making me gasp in surprise at him. "That's too much!" I said to Zuko before looking up to the woman with a kind smile. "Copper pieces are just enough!" "No they are not!" Zuko exclaimed, making me shoot a glare at him. "Silver pieces are used to buy important stuff, like food or clothes, not sea shell accessories!" I said, trying to reason with him.

Zuko shook his head at me before picking up one of the necklaces that had small white shells strung together like beads, with a bigger white shell hanging in the middle. "These are real sea shells, sea shells you picked up yourself." Zuko said as he looked to me and showed me the necklace. "You made it all by yourself. You used time, effort, creativity and talent to make this beautiful necklace."

"He's right my dear." Iroh said, catching my attention. "Not everybody can do the things you did with sea shells. You can't put a price on hard work, talent or creativity." He said as he smiled at me like a proud father. "But I do know that your sea shell accessories are more than copper pieces, so silver will have to do." Before I could argue with the two firebenders, the women threw 15 silver pieces into Iroh's hat.

I blinked in surprise before looking up to the woman, who smiled kindly to me. "They are both right. You are very talented, and I should pay the right price for your creations." The woman said with her kind smile. "I'll like that necklace he's holding," She said and pointed at the necklace in Zuko's hand. "I'll also like this comb, that crown and the hair clip." She finished and picked up the other 3 items.

The was comb made from 2 small white shells and 1 big peach colored shell. The crown was wrapped with a white ribbon, and decorated with white shells and small starfishes. The hair clip that was made from 2 big peach colored shells, and plenty of small pink and white shells.

Before I could object to the woman about the price, Zuko handed her the necklace. "Here you go!" He said before sitting back down and wrapped his arm around me. "Have a nice day!" Iroh said and smiled brightly to her. The woman smiled to us and thanked us one last time for the accessories before walking away.

I blinked a few times, still in shock at what happened before snapping out of it. I then went to stand up to go after the woman and return her money. As I was about to stand up, I went to get her silver pieces out of Iroh's hat, but the firebenders knew what I wanted to do. Zuko held me down by holding my waist, and Iroh moved the hat away from my reach.

"You guys!" I groaned before crossing my arms with a pout. Iroh chuckled in amusement while Zuko smirked secretly as he looked down to his lap. Knowing that they will keep me from returning the money to the woman, I sighed one last time before I continued braiding the choker. But not long after I finished the necklace, a man with dual broadswords on his back walked over to us.

He stopped in front of us with a smug smirk, making me dislike him already. "How about some entertainment in exchange for... a gold piece?" He said as he looked to me with a smirk that made me very uncomfortable and took out a gold piece out of his pocket. Zuko glared at man when he saw him smirking down at me before tightening his grip around me.

"We're not performers." He said to the man and gave him a warning glare. "Not professional anyway." Iroh said with a smile and stood up after handing the hat of coins to me. I closed my eyes and shook my head slightly at the retired general. Iroh then started swaying his body lightly in tune as he started singing.

"It's a long, long way to Ba Sing Se,
but the girls in the city, they look so pretty!"

Like Iroh said, he wasn't a professional singer, but he wasn't a bad one either. But from the man's face expression, he wasn't satisfied with Iroh's performance. "Come on, we're talking a gold piece here! Let's see some action!" The man exclaimed and took out his broadswords. "Dance!" He snapped and with a sword in each hand, he started slicing them at Iroh's feet.

At first I thought he would stand up for himself and stop the man from bullying him, but Iroh just hopped from the one foot to the other, avoiding the sword's slices. I gasped in shock as I watched what was happening in front of me. This shows you, that not all bullies comes from Fire Nation. There is unfortunately bad people in all nations. I thought as I watched the man slice his swords at Iroh's feet before shaking my head in disappointment at Iroh for allowing this.

I really wanted to stop the man's bullying and Iroh embarrassing himself, but then I felt Zuko's grip just tightening around me. The second I felt his grip, I knew he was having trouble fighting and controlling his anger. Knowing how hard it is for him to control his anger, I stayed seated and took his free hand in mine as I tried to calm him from snapping and attacking the man.

"They kiss so sweet
that you really got to meet
the girls from Ba Sing Se!"

Iroh continued singing as he hopped around to avoid the swords slices. While he sang, Zuko's grip got tighter and tighter, but I gently rubbed my thumb on his hand as I tried to calm him down. After Iroh finished singing, the man burst out in laughter. My glare deepened at man, but I stayed seated and kept on holding Zuko's hand. "Ha, ha! Nothing like a fat man dancing for his dinner!" The man said with his mean smirk. "Here ya go!" He said and threw the gold coin at Iroh's feet.

Thinking that it is over, I sighed in relief before picking the coin up before Iroh could and threw it in the hat. "Such a kind man." Iroh said with a slight smile after he sat down. Other's may not have heard it, but I could hear in Iroh's voice that he was not happy with how the man treated him. But the retired general just kept on smiling. I opened my mouth, about to tell Iroh what I thought about that man, when I noticed that the bully was still standing in front of us with his disgusting smirk.

"What do you want now?" I asked him with a glare. Instead of answering me, the man's smirk brightened, making me very uncomfortable, before putting his swords away and he then took out another gold piece. "Entertainment." The man answered without breaking nasty smirk. "Very well!" Iroh said and stood up before either Zuko or I could tell the man to forget about it and shove it.

I looked up to Iroh and shook my head at him. The man was a bully and he didn't deserve any of our attention! But knowing that there is no stopping Iroh, I stayed seat with the hope that the man won't slice his swords at Iroh's feet again. Iroh opened his mouth, about to sing again, when the man rudely interrupted him. "That's not the entertainment I meant." He said to Iroh with a glare before looking back to me with a disgusting smirk.

My eyes widen in shock when I realized what 'entertainment' he wanted now and glared at him with disgust. Iroh was frowning in confusion, but when he saw the way the man was looking at me, he knew what the man wanted instead. He shot the man a disapproval glare and shook his head. Zuko death glared at the man even more while he tightened his grip around my waist. I was death glaring at the man in disgust, while mentally holding myself back from knocking the man's teeth out.

"What do you say toots? Wanna have some fun?" The man asked me with his disgust smirk while twirling the coin between his fingers. "Excuse me!?! Never! Absolutely not!" I exclaimed and shot the man a glare of disgust. "Oh come one! I'll make it worth your while!" My glare of disgust deepened at the man. This man was disgusting, disrespectful and a bully! I was about to tell him exactly what I thought about him, but got interrupted by Zuko.

"She said no!" Zuko snapped as he death glared in both anger and disgust at the man. Knowing that he would most likely stand up and beat up the man, I grabbed a hold on both his hand and arm. "She's not going to be your entertainment!" He added, before intertwining our fingers, and squeezed my hand, secretly telling me he will keep me save. Even though I can fight my own battles, I appreciate that Zuko is standing up for me.

"Oh come on, we're talking a about gold piece here!" The man snapped as he showed us the shiny gold coin. "We are not that desperate for money!" I snapped at him with a glare while Zuko growled in anger. "Come on! Here! I'll even make it 5 gold pieces!" He said and took out 4 more gold pieces. Zuko then tried to stand up, but I held him down as I held on to his hand and arm. "Take your money and leave us alone!" I said while trying to keep Zuko, and myself calm.

After what the man did to Iroh, and the way he spoke to me, I really wanted Zuko to beat the man up. Heck! I myself wanted to beat up the man! But at the moment, an outraged firebender in an Earth Kingdom Village is the last thing we need right now.

The man was about to try and talk us, or actually me, for me to "entertain" him, but got interrupted by Iroh when he lifted his hand up. "I'm sorry, but we're going to have to decline your gold pieces. My nephew's beloved is not going to be your 'entertainment' for gold pieces, or any price for that matter. If you want that kind of 'entertainment', you will have to look somewhere else." Iroh said to the man with his disapproval glare.

I looked up to Iroh and smiled gratefully to him. He looked down at me and he send me an assuring smile, silently telling me that he would keep me save. After hearing his uncle, Zuko sigh silently in relief and calmed down. Zuko then gently rubbed his thumb on my hand to calm himself down more, also silently telling me he was here for me. I gently squeezed his hand, saying my thanks, before sighing when I felt Zuko calm down. But Zuko's anger came back when the man spoke again.

"Tell you what, I'll make 5 into 10 gold pieces, if you let the toots sing me a song, gives me a good time alone, and she hands over that pretty necklace around her neck." The man said and pointed to my red teardrop with a yellow starfish in it necklace. My hand flew to my necklace and my glare to the man deepened. "Forget it!" Zuko answered for before I even could. "She's not giving you her necklace and she's definitely not going to be your entertainment!"

"Come on! 10 gold pieces!" The man said and shook his bag of coins at us. Zuko growled in anger and was about to jump up and beat the man, but got held down by both Iroh and I. Knowing that the man won't leave us until we give him something, I sighed and took out a necklace, which looked like 2 necklaces, along with 3 matching bracelets that were made from just small white shells, that was strung threw the string like beads.

Along with the necklace and bracelets, I took my choker necklace I just finished making, and my blue crown. "Here!" I said as I stood up and handed them to the man. He looked to the sea shell accessories in his hand with an raised eyebrow before looking to me. "You can have these rather than my necklace." I said as I continued glaring at him. Zuko was about to object at me for giving away my accessories, but got shushed by Iroh before he could.

The man looked at the accessories for a moment before looking back to me with a smirk. "And my song and moment alone with you?" He asked with his disgusting smirk. I gritted my teeth in anger and my hands turned into fists. This guys is really trying his luck! Iroh shook his head as he glared in disgust and disapproval at the man while he kept a growling Zuko seated to the ground. My eyes flickered down to Zuko before sighing and looked back to the man.

"I'll sing one song, one!" I said to the man with a glare and showed him one pointed finger before lowering it. "And before you ask, I'm not going to be your entertainment." The man opened his mouth, but I interrupted him before he could argue. "Don't even bother trying to change my mind. It's either one song or nothing at all. Take it or leave it."

The man growled in anger before nodding. "Fine, I'll take the song." Both Iroh and I sighed softly at his answer. I turned to Iroh and saw that he was already looking to me while still holding Zuko by the shoulder's. "Hands of Gold?" He asked before I could ask or say anything. I nodded to Iroh, which he returned before he gently squeezed Zuko's shoulders.

Hands of Gold is a song I sang on music night on Zuko's ship before it exploded. Zian and I used to sing together. The song had two versions. The one version was the male versions, and had more lyrics. The other was the female version, but the first and second verse was sang by a man, and first chorus is sang by both genders, the rest is sang by the woman. For me to sing it, I needed Iroh to sing the first verse for me. Iroh took a breath and sang while I waited for my turn.

He rode through the streets of the city
Down from his hill on high
Over winds and the steps and the cobbles
He rode to a woman's sigh

For she was his secret treasure
She was his shame and bliss
And a chain and a keep are nothing
Compared to a woman's kiss

After Iroh his part, I took a breath and sang the chorus with him. We sang the chorus together, until Iroh slowly and silently stop singing and let me continue singing by myself. (Bold is Iroh and Asami singing together, italics is Asami singing alone)

For hands of gold are always cold
But a woman's hands are warm
For hands of gold are always cold
But a woman's hands are warm
For hands of gold are always cold
But a woman's hands are...

He rode through the streets of the city
Down from his hill on high
Over winds and the steps and the cobbles
He rode to a woman's sigh

For she was his secret treasure
She was his shame and bliss
And a chain and a keep are nothing
Compared to a woman's kiss

For hands of gold are always cold
But a woman's hands are warm. (x4)

Ohh Hands of gold! (x4)

He rode through the streets of the city
Down from his hill on high
Over winds and the steps and the cobbles
He rode to a woman's sigh

For she was his secret treasure
She was his shame and bliss
And a chain and a keep are nothing
Compared to a woman's kiss

For hands of gold are always cold
For she was his secret treasure
For hands of gold are always cold
And a chain and a keep are nothing

For hands of gold are always cold
But a woman's hands are warm. (x2)

Ohh Hands of gold! (x4)

I finished singing and smiled slightly. But when I stopped singing, people started clapping hands. I blinked in shock at the people applauding before blushing, embarrassed for not noticing the crowd listening to me singing, as well as for the praising. Among the people applauding was Iroh, who was clapping his hands the loudest, smiling like a proud father at his daughter's play. Zuko was standing next to his uncle, and he was smiling at me in awe before he slowly started clapping his hands as well.

"Thank you!" I said with a shy smile. But my smiling mouth soon fell open in shock when the people started throwing coins into Iroh's hand, which was place in front of my feet. I quickly snapped out of my surprise and smiled brightly to the people. "Thank you so much!" I said and picked up the hat after the last person threw a few coins in it. After the crowded applauded, and gave away their money, they left and went on with their day.

Zuko and Iroh had moved back to their previous spots, and sat down while I stood. I smiled to them both, but then I noticed the man was stilling standing there. My bright smile fell when I saw his disgusting smirk. Instead of saying anything, I showed him the hat and shook it, making the coins in it jingle, silently telling him to pay up. The man looked from me to the hat for a moment before scoffing a laugh. "A deals a deal." He said as he took out 10 gold pieces and threw the coins into the hat.

I nodded my thanks, and sat back down. But when I sat down, I noticed that Zuko was glaring in front of him. I frowned in confusion and looked to where he was glaring. To my disappointment, the man was still standing there. Before I could snap at him, the man shook his bag of coins at us with his smirk. "If you ever change your mind, just know that I have more than enough to pay." He said with his disgusting smirk before putting his bag of coins away and walked away.

"That's it! He's dead!" Zuko snapped and went to stand up, but I quickly grabbed Zuko's hand, stopping him after handing Iroh the hat with coins. "Leave it." I said as I wrapped my arm around his. Zuko looked to me in shock before glaring. "You really can't expect me to just leave it!" He snapped, but I just calmly looked to him and intertwined our fingers. "Just forget about him." I said and squeezed his hand with mine. Zuko shook his head at me as he continued glaring.

"He's a disrespectful, disgusting human being that does not deserve to live!" He said as he glared deepened in anger. The anger wasn't aimed at me, but at the man, who luckily left before either of us kicked his butt. I know Zuko has all the right to be angry, I am angry as well. But like I said previously, this isn't the place for him to go out raged firebender. So I sighed softly and calmly as I place my other hand on his right cheek before repeating myself. "Just forget about him."

Zuko scoff and was about to remark, but I pulled him close to me and kissed him before he could even speak. He was caught by surprise for a split moment, but he quickly snapped out of it and kissed me back. We kissed for a moment until I pulled away. I looked into Zuko's golden eyes with my grey eyes as I gently rubbed his cheek with my thumb. "Forget about him." I said as I rubbed his cheek with my thumb gently.

The scarred prince look into my eyes with mix emotions. He opened his mouth again, but he stayed quiet when I squeezed his hand again. "Just forget about him, please... We'll never see that man again after we leave this village." I said, giving his hand one last squeeze before letting his hand go. Zuko stared at me for a moment before sighing, crossing his arms with a glare and laid back against Mirai, who was still sleeping with a sleeping Kai on her back.

"He better watch his back." Zuko mattered under his breath as he glared at the direction the man left. Knowing that he won't do anything, I sighed slightly in relief. Iroh looked to me, and gave me a proud smile with a nod. I returned the nod before taking out sea shells and started making more accessories. While I made accessories, Iroh did a quick scan to see how much we made, while Zuko continued glaring at the direction the man left.

***

It was getting dark, and our small group packed up and left to our cave where we took shelter. On our way leaving the village, we bought some food, water travel bags, blankets, first-aid supplies and other supplies we will be needing for the road. When we arrived at our cave, Iroh sat down against the cave wall and started counting the money we had left. From the looks of it, not much. Yes we got a lot of money from my sea shell accessories and my singing, but food and other supplies aren't cheap.

Mirai and Kai started playing together with a ball I maid from dry grass. They played by rolling the ball back and forth to each other. Zuko was getting the fire ready, and I was putting our supplies away. After Zuko lid the firewood, he walked over to Iroh and took a few coins and walked towards the cave's exit. "Where are you going?" I asked and frowned in confusion when I saw my boyfriend about to walk into the dark night.

"We need more firewood and we also forgot to buy some feed for Mirai." Zuko answered bluntly without stopping and walked out of the cave. I frowned even more in confusion at his attitude before sighing slightly. He's still angry about what happened today, and I honestly don't blame him. Unfortunately there is nothing we can do without drawing attention to ourselves.

After putting the supplies away, I checked on the fire when a weird feeling came over me. I frowned at the feeling before shaking my head, ignoring it. I tried to check the fire again, when I felt it again. Only this time, the feeling was stronger. For some reason, the feeling is telling me to meditate. Why, I do not know. But it's most likely nothing, so I just ignored it again. I tried again to check the fire, when the feeling hit me so hard, it felt like it was shouting in my ear to meditate.

Getting annoyed at the feeling, I walked over to a corner and sat down cross leg. "Uncle, I'm going to meditate for a while. Do you mind keeping an eye on the fire?" I asked Iroh as I got in meditation pose. Iroh frowned slightly in confusion before smiling. "Of course not! Meditate as long as you want to dear Asami." I smiled and thanked him before closing my eyes, clearing my mind and slowly breathed in through the nose and out the mouth.

I repeated this cycle until I was in complete zin. "Yes! It worked!" My eyes flew open in surprise when I heard Aang's voice. Sitting front of me wasn't Iroh, Mirai and Kai, but my little brother. "Aang!?!" I exclaimed in surprise with wide eyes, before frowning when I noticed that we were glowing, and blue and also in a swamp. "What in the world?" I questioned as I looked down at my hand for a moment then at the swamp surround us.

"Pretty cool huh?" Aang asked with a big smile. "I don't know about cool Aang." I said as I looked at my hand again, a bit freaked out at me being blue and glowing. "I usually look like this when I'm in the Spirit World." Aang said with a shrug, without even breaking his smile. "We're in the Spirit World!?!?" I exclaimed in even more shock, which made Aang jump in surprise. "No! No we're not!" He quickly said with wide eyes as he tried to calm me down, before frowning slightly. "Well, I think we're not."

"Not helping Aang!" I said before taking a deep breath and calmed down slightly. After calming a bit I looked to my brother, who was staring at me nervously. "How are you doing this? I didn't know you can do this." I asked with a frown. Aang sighed in relief before smiling brightly again. "It's this swamp!" He answered excitedly as his arms motioned to the swamp surrounding us. "It's mystical!" He added while smiling brightly.

I blinked a few times in surprise, before sighing. "Do I even want to know?" I asked, only getting Aang nodding rapidly yes. Before I even knew, Aang told me everything that happened today in the swamp. After he told me about the swamp, he started telling me every adventure he and the Water Tribe siblings had. From the Southern Air Temple, to Avatar Roku's Temple, to the North Pole, and finally Omashu.

As Aang was telling his adventures, I was staring at him in both surprise, shock and impressed. At some parts of the stories, I flinched for not being there to protect him. But I was glad that Aang, Katara and Sokka was able to get out of trouble without my help. "And that's everything!" Aang finished with a bright smile, before frowning slightly and scratched his bald head. "I think that's all the adventures..." Before he could started telling adventures again, I interrupted him by placing my hand on his mouth.

"That's enough tales for tonight!" I said, half serious as I smiled slightly to him. Aang blinked a few times at me before shrugging and nodded. I slowly removed my hand from his mouth before sighing in relief when he stayed quiet. I sat back down and just stared at my brother for a few moments before finally asking him. "Why did you really contact me Aang? And why are you still at the swamp? You need to be moving and searching for your earthbender teacher."

"Because I needed to know where you are so that we can pick you up." Aang answered with a small frown. "The swamp is mystical and was able to help me find Appa and Momo. I thought if I thought really hard and concentrated, I might be able to contact you. And I did!" He finished with a bright smile. I smiled at my little brother for caring before my smile slowly turned into frowning when the realization hit me.

Aang contacted me to find me and to come get me. He has no idea that I'm with Zuko and that I want to stay with him. The more I thought about it, the more I felt guilty and bad. How do I tell my brother that not only did go willingly with his enemy, but that I'm dating him as well? Did was a really difficult situation for me. I really wanted to be with Aang and protect him from any harm while helping him train. But at the same time, I wanted to stay with Zuko, I didn't want to leave him.

I could always try and change Zuko's mind. He did make a joke about becoming Aang's firebending teacher. Yet again, it was a joke. For me to get Zuko to change his mind, to agree and as well get him on Aang's side, I'm going to need more than just a day. Before I could even brainstorm on what I'm going to do or even tell my brother, Aang immediately jumped in and asked me where I am. "So where are exactly? I need to know so that I can pick you up."

This is going to be harder than I thought. I thought to myself as I stared at Aang, who was just smiling at me. "I uh... um, you see Aang... I uh, um..." I started talking, but I had no freaking clue what to tell him. But Aang was so oblivious and just kept smiling at me. As Aang was smiling at me, an idea pop in my head, but I really didn't want to lie to Aang. But I needed more time to make to right decision, as well as to try and get Zuko to come with me.

"I don't really know where I am honestly." I said, flinching slightly for lying to my little brother. Aang started at me surprised, before smiling again. "Don't worry! I'm sure you'll figure out where you are soon enough!" He said without breaking his smile. "After what happened today, and also the tornado throwing our supplies away, me and the group decided to stay at the swamp for a while. Only until we gathered enough supplies to travel to the next village."

Hearing that, I was filled with both relief and worry. Relief that I have time to work on a plan, and Zuko, worry that Aang is losing more time in searching for an earthbender teacher. But Aang was making the right decision, he and the rest of the group can't travel without supplies. If I'm lucky, I might have a few days to figure out a plan, along with changing Zuko's mind. But if I'm unlucky, I might only have an day, two tops to figure everything out.

"I'll go and ask around tomorrow to figure out where I am." I said to Aang, getting an even brighter smile before he nodded in agreement. "I'll contact you again tomorrow night. Hopefully you'll know where you are and we'll have enough supplies." Aang said, making me nod in agreement instead of answering vocally. "See you tomorrow night sis!" Aang said before standing up and hugged me. I smiled and returned the hug. "See you tomorrow bro."

***

After I got out of meditation, I noticed that Iroh fell asleep while still counting the money. I shook my head with a soft laugh before standing up and walked over to him. As gently as I could alone, I got Iroh into his sleeping bag. While the retired general slept and snored, I collected the money and place them into a small bag before putting it away. I then took our last pile of wood and threw it into our camp fire.

While fueling the fire, I noticed that both Mirai and Kai were sleeping as well. I also noticed that Zuko wasn't back yet. Worry immediately filled me. I know he went to buy feed and collect firewood, but he's taking a bit to long. What if he's in trouble? What if the Earth Kingdom figured out that he's Fire Nation? What if he went to get revenge at the man? Seeing that the night sky was getting darker, made me more worried before I decided to go and look for him.

I stood up from my spot and was about to walk out the cave, when Zuko walked in with a pile of firewood under the one arm and a bag of feed on the shoulder. "Oh thank goodness!" I exclaimed in relief and wrapped my arms around him, hugging him tight. Zuko grunted in surprise at my sudden hug attack. "I wasn't gone that long." Zuko said, but he flinched slightly when I shot him a glare after I pulled away. "Was I?" He asked nervously and looked to the sky.

When he saw how dark the sky was and how far the moon was, he flinched again, realizing that he really was that long gone. "I'm sorry." Zuko said to me before he put down both the feed and firewood. He then walked over to me and hugged me. "I didn't mean to worry you." He said as he gently rubbed my back with his hand. I sighed softly as I laid my head against his chest. "I'll make sure not to stay out so long next time." I frowned slightly at his comment, but decided to leave it for now.

***

The next day I woke up, and noticed that I was alone in my sleeping bag. I frowned in confusion and sat up. "Morning Asami!" Iroh said with a smile as he sitting close to the fire. "Morning Uncle." I said as I got out of the sleeping bag. "Where's Zuko?" I asked as I walked over and sat down next to him. "He must have left to get more firewood." Iroh said with a shrug, not really knowing where is nephew is. I sighed softly before smiling when Kai came over and laid on my lap.

Kai yipped before turning on his back and showed me his belly. Both Iroh and I laughed at the fire ferret when we immediately noticed that Kai was asking for belly rubs. Shaking my head at the silly ferret with a smile, I started scratching his belly. Iroh chuckled in amusement when Kai started groaning in pleasure from his belly scratches. "He really loves his belly scratches!" He said with an amused smile.

Before I could comment, Zuko walked into the cave with two baskets full of what looks like sugar buns. In one of the baskets was a huge green fruit. He walked over to Iroh and dropped the baskets in front of him. "Where did you get these?" Iroh asked as both he and I wondered where the food came. "What does it matter where they came from?" Zuko asked, a bit snappy, as he walked away again. I frowned at Zuko's temper while Iroh hummed in seriousness.

"What's with him?" I asked with a frown while Iroh took out a sugar bun. Iroh shrugged slightly and took a bite. He immediately hummed in delight, jam dripping from his chin, as his eyes sparkled. I chuckled at him before taking a bun as well. "Jam filled sugar buns..." I said and took a bite, moaning in delight when I tasted the deliciousness. "My favorite." I added smiling while Kai moved from my lap and got his own bun.

"That's kind of Zuko to buy your favorite food!" Iroh said and took another bite of the buns. I just continued smiling. Yes... it was kind. But he shouldn't be wasting our money on buying baskets full of my favorite. We need to use the money for supplies. Curiosity getting the best of me, I went over to the bag of money and check how much was left, just to sum up how much the food cost. But when I opened the bag and counted the money, I saw we still had the same amount as last night.

If Zuko didn't take money, how did he pay for the food?

***

After noticing that Zuko didn't take money to buy breakfast, I went and searched for him. Much to my frustration, I didn't find him. I needed to talk to him. Not just about the food and money, but about changing his mind and getting him to join Aang's group with me. Aang will contact me again tonight, and he will be expecting an answer on where I am. I really wanted to be with Aang again, but I also really didn't want to leave Zuko.

Giving up on searching for him in the woods, I decided to go back to the cave. On my way back, I run into Iroh. He was stretching his legs and was also on his way back. We both then walked back together to cave and chatted on the way. It wasn't long until we arrived. But when we got to the cave, we saw Zuko sitting near the campfire, watching Mirai and Kai play with their ball. I immediately frown in deep confusion when I noticed that the cave was full of food and a new shiny gold tea set.

"Whoa..." I said as Iroh and I walked deeper in. How in the world did he buy all this? We had money, but not enough to buy a whole pig to roast, more baskets of buns, and definitely not enough to buy a shiny gold tea set. Not the mention the fact that I had our money with me the whole time when I went and searched for Zuko.

"Looks like you did some serious shopping." Iroh said as he walked over to the tea set and sat down. He picked up the teapot and inspected it until his eyes flickered over the money bag hanging on my belt. His eyes narrowed and looked back to Zuko. "But where did you get the money?" Iroh asked as he realized that not only did we have enough money to buy these fancy food and tea sets, but that Zuko didn't even have the money with him when he went shopping.

"Do you like your new teapot?" Zuko asked, almost lazily while avoiding the question. I sighed softly before walking over to Zuko and sat down next to him. After sitting down, his arm automatically wrapped around my waist and Zuko pulled me closer to him. I blushed slightly while smiling at his affection. Iroh smiled too at his nephew's affection before he frowned in seriousness and put the teapot down.

"To be honest with you, the best tea tastes delicious whether it comes in a porcelain pot or a tin cup." Iroh said, making Zuko sigh as he looked down at his lap. I frowned slightly and took his hand in mine and gently rubbed it with my thumb. Seeing his nephew's sadden mood, Iroh stood up and walked over to us. "I know we've had some difficult times lately." He spoke as he came over. "We've had to struggle just to get by." He said and kneeled down next to Zuko.

"But it's nothing to be ashamed of!" Iroh said and placed his hand on his nephew's shoulder. Zuko closed his eyes and squeezed my hand as he tried to hold his emotions back. I squeezed his hand back as well while Iroh continued speaking. "There is a simple honor in poverty." I flinched slight when Iroh said honor, but I just continued rubbing Zuko's hand with my thumb. "There's no honor for me without the Avatar." Zuko said as he opened his eyes again.

I sighed in defeat and looked out the cave. "Zuko..." Iroh sighed in defeat before he continued speaking. "Even if you did capture the Avatar, I'm not so sure it would solve our problems." From the corner of my eye, I saw Iroh looking to me for a moment before looking back to Zuko. "Not now." He added and stared at his nephew. "Then there is no hope at all." Zuko said and removed his arm and hand from me.

Zuko went to stand up and leave the cave, but both Iroh and I grabbed him. Iroh grabbed his shoulders, and I grabbed his arm. "No, Zuko!" Iroh said while I intertwined mine and Zuko's fingers when I took his hand. "You must never give in to despair. Allow yourself to slip down that road and you surrender to your lowest instincts. In the darkest times, hope is something you give yourself. That is the meaning of inner strength." Iroh said while Zuko looked down at my and his joined hands.

Zuko then looked up and turned slightly to face his uncle. He stared at Iroh, while the retired general stared back with sadness. Zuko then looked to me, and stared deep in my eyes. I stared also back and gently squeezed his hand. The banished prince just sighed before removing his hand from mine. He stood up and left the cave.

***

When Zuko left the cave, I wanted to go after him. But Iroh stopped him and told me to give him some time alone. I wanted to argue, but I soon realized that after Iroh's speech, nothing what I will say to Zuko will stay. If anything, asking him to join Aang will only anger him even more. Zuko needs some time to think, about his decisions he made and will make, his life and his destiny. Hopefully Aang will need some more time to get their supplies, otherwise I'll just have to work on an excuse tonight.

As I waited for Zuko to come back, Iroh started going through the supplies. Seeing all the food and supplies Zuko got for us, I decided to help. We split everything into equal three, one for each of us, even the money. After we split the supplies, I told Iroh to roast the pig while I packed the supplies into our three bags. Iroh agreed and started roasting the pig for dinner.

"Smells good Uncle!" I said with a smile as I got some jam filled buns out to have with the roast pig. "Thank you Asami!" Iroh said with a bright smile. "Uncle, Asami..." I looked up and saw Zuko standing at the cave entrance. "Zuko!" I said with a bright smile. "You're just in time! Dinner ready." I said and walked over to Iroh with a wooden plate for him to place the cut meat on. Zuko looked over to with sad filled eyes before looking to his uncle, who was about to cut the roast pig.

"I thought a lot about what you said Uncle." Zuko said while I stared at him in confusion when I saw his sadden eyes. "You did? Good, good." Iroh said with a smile and started cutting the meat. "It's helped me realize something." Zuko said before he looked to me again. He just stood there and stared at me. His staring felt like an eternity, but it was only a few moments. I was about to question his sad expression when he looked back to Iroh and spoke.

"We no longer have anything to gain by traveling together."

Caught by surprise, I gasped and accidently dropped the plate. Luckily it was wooden, so it didn't break. But it still made a loud thump when it hit the ground, which made Mirai and Kai yip and squawk in surprise. I ignored the animals and stared at the banished prince in shock, sadness, disbelief and betrayal. Zuko flinched at my expression before looking to the ground and spoke again. "I need to find my own way."

Iroh, who was still looking down at the roast pig, sighed in sadness before bending down and picked up the fallen plate. "Very well then." He said and handed the plate back to me. "But at least stay for the night." He said and started cutting the meat again. "You'll need a full meal and a good nights rest to have the energy for your journey alone." He stated and placed the cut meat on the plate. He then took the plate from me before walking over to the buns I took out.

He placed two buns next to the meat and walked over to Zuko, offering the plate to him. Zuko looked at the plate full food before looking up to his uncle. They both stared for a moment before Zuko nodded and took the plate. Iroh nodded as well before walking back to the roast pig and started cutting again. Knowing he will need more plates, I quickly got two more and held them for Iroh as I waited for him to finish cutting.

After Iroh placed the cut meat on the plates, I handed one plate to him before getting myself two buns. Iroh got himself some buns as well before the three of us sat down next to the fire. We ate in silence while Mirai and Kai played with their ball. After I finished eating, I stood up and rinsed the plate before putting it away. I then gave Kai a bun to eat, and gave Mirai some feed. Instead of sitting down again and just sitting in silence, I walked out of the cave, into the woods.

Zuko called out my name, but I just ignored and continued walking away from him and the cave. After I got some distance between me and the cave, I stopped and started taking deep breaths to stop myself from crying. He was leaving me... After I chose to go and stay with him, not once but twice, and he's leaving me. Feeling the pain of heartbreak coming slowly in my heart, I closed my eyes tight to try and stop the tears from forming.

Taking a few breaths in and out to calm myself, with my eyes still close, I slowly sat down crossed legged. After feeling a bit calmer than previously, I took a beep breath and started meditating. It wasn't long until I was completely calm and entered zin. Not long after I entered zin, I felt the connection I felt last night. I opened my eyes and saw that I was in a swamp. Sitting in front of me, was a smiling Aang. "Hey Asami!" He said with a bright smile and waved.

"I know where I am."

***

I told Aang where I was, and he said that he, Appa and the rest will come get me, and Kai, in the morning before noon. After that, we had a very small chat before I left and got out of meditation. But as soon as I opened my eyes, I saw Zuko standing a few feet in front of me. I scoffed with a glare and stood up again. "What do you want?" I asked and marched away from him. Zuko followed after to me and tried to catch up, but I didn't slow down my pace.

"Asami can we please talk?" Zuko begged as he tried to keep up and catch up with my pace. "Talk? You want to talk?" I asked sarcastically without stopping walking. "Sure! Let's talk!" I said with a fake excitement before looking over my shoulder, and glared at Zuko. "Let's talk about you leaving!" I snapped and looked back in front of me, and started walking even faster. Zuko flinched at my snap, but it didn't stop him from following me.

"I don't want to leave you Asami." He said, making me scoff in irritation. "You have a funny way of showing it!" I said before stopping when Zuko finally caught up with me and grabbed my arm. "Asami, please? Try and understand..." Zuko started speaking as he turned me to face him and went to take my hands in his, but I pulled them away. "Understand? Understand!?!" I yelled in frustration as I death glared at the banished prince.

"You are leaving us! You are leaving me!" I exclaimed as tears slowly formed on my glaring eyes. "After everything we went through! After I chose to stay with you, you decide to leave!" I exclaimed and a tear slowly escaped from my eye and slid down my face. I sucked in a breath when I felt the tear and quickly wiped it away. But Zuko already saw the tear. "You're leaving..." I muttered before biting my lip as I tried to hold back my tears.

Not saying a word, Zuko took a step closer to me and wrapped his arms around me and brought me into a tight embrace. "You're leaving..." I whimpered into his chest as my shoulders shook as I tried not to cry. Zuko just tightened his embrace and gently rubbed my back as I started crying. "You're leaving." I repeated as the tears rolled down from my eyes while Zuko rubbed my back to comfort me.

"I'm truly sorry Asami." Zuko said as he held me in his embrace. "I'm really, truly sorry." I just whimpered slightly as I listened to his words. "Please believe me that I really don't want to leave." "Then why are you?" I asked and pulled slightly away from his embrace and looked into his eyes with my teared filled eyes. Zuko stared into my eyes for a long moment before closing them with a sad sigh.

"Asami..." He said softly before his eyes opened again and connected with mine. "There is so much I can and can't have. There are things I want to do, and I can but at the same time I can't." He said as he looked me deep in the eye. "My head is going crazy. I want the one thing, but at the same time I don't. I want to face my problems and at the same time I just want to run away from them. There is just so much going on right now."

I stared into Zuko's eyes before sighing. Looks like Zuko and I are in the same boat. We both want something we can and can't have. We had decisions to make, and they are not easy decision. Hearing my sigh, Zuko laid his forehead against mine, and rested it there while we both closed our eyes and held each other in embrace. We hugged each other for a while until Zuko pulled away and looked again into my eyes.

"I have decisions to make... And I have to make them on my own... Alone."

Knowing that he was right, I just nodded before hugging him again. "Don't forget about me." He said softly into my ear. "Never." I said as we held on to each other in an embrace. "Will you wait for me?" He asked as his arms tightened around me. "Absolutely." I answered as I closed my eyes, holding my tears back again and tightened my arms as well around him.

***

We returned back to the cave together. Mirai and Kai were already sleeping when we got there. Iroh was busy making jerky from the left over meat from the roast pig with his firebending. After the meat was dry enough, he packed it into small bags and split the bags of jerky into equal three. An equal share of pig jerky for each of us.

None of us spoke. We just continued on with the night until we went to bed. Iroh placed his sleeping bad near the animals and immediately fell asleep after he climbed in. Zuko and I got into our sleeping bag we share. Zuko was the first to fall asleep. Me... not so much. Even laying on his chest and having his arms wrapped around me, I couldn't fall asleep. I even started counting koala sheep, but after 60 I gave up.

Time went by, and I was still awake. I was about to get out of my sleeping bag when something caught my eye. Zian's engagement ring on my right hand ring finger. As I stared at the ring, my left hand started playing with my starfish teardrop necklace Zuko got me. That's when it hit me. I have a few things that will make me remember both Zian and Zuko.

My engagement ring and Kai makes me remember Zian. My orange and yellow dresses, my necklace, and my turtleduck teddy makes me remember Zuko. Zuko doesn't have anything to remember him of me...

As silently as I can, and slowly, I got out of Zuko's embrace and sleeping bag. I waited a moment to make sure I didn't wake him before moving over to my bag. Then in my bag I got out a carving knife, a flat black rock I picked up on the beach and some string. Checking first to see if everyone was still sleeping, I started carving into the stone.

***

Luckily, I didn't take all night. Even more good news, I was so tired after carving in the rock and fell asleep the second I got back into the sleeping bag and laid my head on Zuko's chest. I slept very well that night. But when morning came... I wished the night never ended. Usually Zuko woke up before Iroh and I, but this I woke up before them.

Not ready to say goodbye, I just continued to lay quietly in Zuko's arms. Cuddling into his warm chest, while praying and hoping he'll just stay asleep. Because the second he wakes up, he's going to back and leave. I know and understand why he has to travel alone to find his own way. But that doesn't mean it makes it easier. I hate goodbyes. Especially goodbyes for someone you love. And what sucks the most, I don't know when or if I will ever see him again.

Unfortunately, Zuko woke up a few minutes later. When he looked down and saw me looking to him, his expression turned sad. He knew our time together was getting shorter. Instead of saying something, Zuko just gently squeezed me with the arm wrapped around me. I just laid my head back on his chest and drew patterns on him with my finger. We stayed like this until Iroh woke up.

In silence, the three of us packed up the rest of our supplies before eating some jam filled nuns for breakfast. I finished eating before them. While they continued eating, I quickly fed Mirai and Kai, while giving the ostrich horse a good amount of water to drink. She's going to need it when she travels with Zuko. When Zuko was lighting the campfire, both Iroh and I quietly discussed and agreed to give Mirai for Zuko to travel with. He's going to benefit more with traveling with Mirai than Iroh and I.

Zuko and Iroh soon finished eating, and we all stared at each other with sad expressions. It was time to say goodbye. Zuko picked Kai up and hugged him for a few moments before handing him to his uncle. Before the banished prince could say anything, Iroh placed Kai on his shoulder and brought his nephew into a strong hug. Zuko blinked a few times in surprise, before slowly and nervously hugging back.

They hugged for a moment until Zuko pulled away. He nodded to his uncle, which Iroh returned, and walked over to me. We stared at each other for a minute before throwing ourselves into each others arms. The second our arms were around each other, the tears started rolling down from my eyes. Zuko tightened his embrace and softly shushed me as I cried. "I'm going to miss you so much!" I whimpered as I closed my eyes to try and stop the tears.

"I'm going to miss you too." He said, squeezing one last time before pulling slightly away. He stared deep into my eyes and placed his hand on my face. "I love you." I whimpered and closed my eyes. "I love you too." I said and opened my eyes again. Zuko smiled sadly to me and wiped a tear away that escaped from my eye with his thumb. We continued staring into each other eyes for a while until Zuko spoke again.

"Please don't hate me..." He begged as tightened his embrace around me, while holding my face gently with his hand. "Never." I answered as I stared deep into his eyes, silently promising him I'll never hate him. Zuko sighed softly in relief before closing his eyes and placed his forehead against mine. "Promise you'll be patient with me?" He asked as he gently rubbed my cheek. With my eyes closed as well, I gently nodded without pulling away from his forehead. "Absolutely."

Zuko hugged me tightly one last time before pulling away completely. He looked at me for a moment before turning around and got his travel bag. Before he could exit the cave, I remembered about my gift and stopped him. "Zuko wait!" I called out and run over to him. Zuko sighed softly as he stopped before turning to face. "I know it's hard Asami, but-" He started saying, but got interrupted by me. "That's not why I stopped you."

Before he could question me, I put a necklace over his head, and placed it gently on his neck. Zuko frowned in surprise at me before lifting the necklace to see it. The necklace was a flat, round black rock, with the an air symbol on the one side, and fire symbol on the other side. When I placed the necklace on him, I made sure the air symbol faced up and the fire symbol against him, so people wouldn't see it.

"It's beautiful... Thank you Asami." Zuko said, letting the necklace go and looked back to me. I smiled and gently played with the necklace hanging around his neck. "This will help you to remember me." I said, staring at the necklace for a moment. Zuko then gently took a hold of my chin and raised my head slightly up, making me look at him. "I'll never forget about you." He said and placed his lips onto mine, kissing me passionately and lovingly.

I returned the kiss with the same amount of passion and love, until I pulled away. I took a few deep breaths to catch my breath before speaking. "Don't give up on us." "Never." Zuko immediately promised as he held my face with his hand. "Come back to me..." I begged as I stared deep into his eyes with my teary eyes. "Absolutely." He promised and kissed me one last time before pulling away, turning around and started walking away.

"Wait!" Zuko stopped with a sigh when he heard his uncle's voice. He turned and was about to speak, but stopped when he saw Iroh walking over with Mirai. Iroh stopped in front of Zuko and handed Mirai's reins to him. Zuko looked to Mirai before looking to Iroh, then Kai, who was still sitting on Iroh's shoulder, and finally looked to me. We stared at each other for a few moments before Zuko turned and mounted Mirai.

Not a second later, Zuko flicked the reins and both Mirai and him took off on the road. When they were no longer in my sight, I fell down to my knees and burst into tears. Iroh immediately came over to me. He wrapped me into a fatherly embrace and comforted me. Kai jumped over to my shoulder and rubbed his cheek against mine, chirping softly to comfort me as well. But as much as they tried to comfort and cheer me up, it didn't help much...

I just wanted Zuko's arms around me and his comfort

***

After a few hours, I finally stopped crying. Not because I finally calmed down, but because I run out of tears to cry. When I stopped crying, Iroh gently led me back to the cave and made us some tea. As Iroh made the tea, Kai went over to his ball and yipped excitedly. But his excitement soon fell when he noticed Mirai was nowhere to be seen. This broke my heart even more. Iroh and I weren't the only ones who got separated by a loved one. Kai lost his best friend.

Iroh also noticed Kai's sadden mood and sighed. "Seems like their friendship was stronger than we knew." He said and poured the tea into two cups, and then into a very small bowl for Kai. Iroh offered Kai's tea first, but the fire ferret just laid down next to the ball and ignored the tea. That broke my heart even worst. Kai never ignores Iroh's tea, he loves his tea.

"Never thought I would see the day when my dear little friend wouldn't drink my tea." Iroh said and sighed softly in sadness. I sighed as well before thanking the retired general when he handed me a cup of tea. In silence, we drank our tea while Kai continued laying and stared at the ball. After Iroh finished his cup, he refilled it before speaking. "When is your brother coming to get you?" I looked up in surprise and saw Iroh looking knowingly to me.

"How... how did you know?" I asked softly and placed my empty cup down next to me. "When you meditated, I felt a spiritual connection. You being the Avatar's sister as well as Protector, it is safe to assume that he contacted you." Iroh answered as he placed the teapot down and picked up his cup. "You can feel spiritual connections?" I asked even more surprised. Iroh smiled and took a sip of tea before answering me. "Not just feel, I can see them as well when they're in our pressions."

I stared at the retired general in surprise and was about to ask more questions, when he gently raised his hand up. "That is a story for another time." He said and placed his hand back on the cup next to his other hand. "When is you're brother coming?" He asked again and took sip of tea from the cup. I took a deep breath and released it before answering him. "Before noon." Iroh flinched slightly before nodding.

"We still have time to say goodbye properly." He said and continued drinking his tea. I sighed softly, looking down at my lap before looking up to Iroh with teary eyes. "But I don't want to say goodbye..." I said with a soft whimper. "I don't want to lose you too Uncle Iroh." I added before closing my eyes to stop the tears from rolling down again. Instead of saying anything, Iroh just stood up and walked over to me. He sat down next to me and hugged me.

"I know my dear... I know." Iroh said as he rubbed my arm up as he hugged me. Why are goodbyes so hard? Goodbyes sucks! "What are you going to do?" I asked after a soft whimper. "I'm going to follow Zuko from a distance. In case he needs me." He answered as he continued rubbing my arm in comfort. "That's actually a good idea..." I said as I rubbed my eyes. "I should have thought of that." Iroh just hummed a chuckled.

"As much as Zuko needs to travel alone to find his own way, so do you have to travel with your brother." He said without breaking the hug, and made me frown in confusion. "You both have decisions to make for your future. Those decisions needs to be made by yourselves alone. Not with you two in each others pressions." I sighed slightly in both frustration and sadness. "Well that sucks." I muttered, making Iroh chuckle in amusement. "Yes, unfortunately it does."

***

Time went by, and noon came quicker than we wanted. Neither of us wanted to say goodbye, but we both knew that we had too. We packed up what was left from our camp and left the cave. Iroh and I, with Kai on the retired general's shoulder, walked until we got to a road. Reluctantly, Iroh hugged Kai and said his goodbye before handing the fire ferret over to me. Kai must have realized that we were leaving, because he whimpered in sadness in my arms.

"I'll miss you too my dear little friend." Iroh said and petted Kai on the head. He then looked to me, and I was caught by surprise. Because Iroh was staring at me with teary eyes. I immediately hugged him tight with the one arm. He hugged back and held onto me for a moment. "I'm going to miss you as well dear Asami." He whispered softly without breaking the hug. "I'm going to miss you too Uncle Iroh." I said with my eyes closed.

We hugged a while longer until Iroh pulled away. He smiled at me one last time a kind yet sad smile, before turning and walked down the road. Both Kai and I watched him leave until I turned and walked up the road, in the opposite direction. We moved up the road until we were close to an Earth King village. It wasn't long after that when I heard a familiar groan.

Smiling, I looked up and saw Appa flying over our heads before landing a few meters in front of me. "Asami!" Aang cheered excitedly and before I knew it, I had his arms wrapped around me, brought into a tight hug. I chuckled and placed Kai on my shoulder before returning my brother's hug. "It's good to see you Aang." I said and returned a squeeze after Aang gave me one.

*Author's note*

Hey readers! I do believe this is my first Author's note in this story. Firstly, I want to thank each and every one of you for reading my story, for the reviews, votes and support. You guys have no idea how much it means for me, so Thank You.

Secondly, the song Asami sang does not belong to me, it is originally Ed Sheeran's, but I used Karliene's version of Hands of Gold.

Thirdly, I know Zuko parted ways on the episode of Avatar Day, but I'm going to write it that he did it before that. So the next chapter is going to be on Avatar Day.

And last but not least, if you guys have ANY ideas, please feel free to give them. Many your reviews have inspired and helped me with this story. So please do feel free to share if you have ideas for this story.

Last note, if you have any questions at all, also feel free to ask. I promise to answer each and every question. Unless the answer gives to much spoilers away. I will answer on small, very small, spoilers. But otherwise, if the spoiler is too big, I apologized now if I don't answer.

Thank you again! And see you guys on the next chapter!