It was the dead of night, but sleep was impossible.

          Y/N leaned against the ship railing, watching the dark waves pass by. The design, the feel, and the people on the Watertribe ship were all comfortingly familiar, but her footsteps echoed on wood instead of metal now, reminding her of his absence.

          Pakku, the waterbender master that had been teaching Katara and Aang, was escorting them to Omashu, where Aang intended to learn earthbending from the king. 

          Being reunited with both of her siblings was wonderful, she never wanted to leave them again, but a part of her wanted to hear Amo's disruptive, wheezing laugh, see Zaji's small but sincere smile, get fire thrown at her when she interrupted a certain prince's meditation time with a tea tray in hand.

          "You must be Y/N. A little late to be out on deck, isn't it?" Y/N snapped her gaze up from the water, looking up at Master Pakku, approaching her across the deck.

          "I'd rather be awake out here than staring at the ceiling belowdecks." She explained simply, turning back to watch the storm clouds crouched on the horizon. Pakku stopped next to her, studying her closely.

          "I've heard you are also a female waterbender." He commented, and Y/N snorted.

          "What's the female part got to do with it?"

          "And apparently have the same amount of sass as your little sister." He laughed, and Y/N gave him an unamused eyeroll, looking over at him.

          "Are you looking for a fight, or just trying to get me to leave?" She asked, turning away from the sea to lean sideways on the railing. 

          "I don't know. Katara said you weren't that good of a bender." She what?! Y/N pushed of the railing, taking a fighting stance.

          "Oh yeah?" Y/N challenged. "I don't care if I almost died yesterday, I'll fight you, old man!" She brought the water out of the containers strapped to her sides. Miraculously, she had been able to keep track of them through all the craziness, and not lose them.

          "Watch your tongue, young lady. You're being irrational, picking a fight in your current state. You don't even have the gift of healing." Pakku took a defensive stance, his words tinged with annoyance.

          "I can do so much more than you think I can." Y/N threatened, her floating streams of water freezing solid, but still moving around, causing it to make a disturbing crackling sound. Something in her head warned her to calm down, but another part of her reminded her that she could paralyze this old grouch in seconds.

          Plus, the reality of what she could do hadn't even set in quite yet. Over the sleepless hours since the incident, she had found it easier to not think about it, rather than shudder at the image burned permanently into her eyes.

          "What's going on?" Sokka asked, standing in the doorway, looking confused. "Y/N, you should be in bed, you're still recovering." Y/N relaxed as he walked out on deck, putting her water away and sighing.

          "Sorry Sokka. Did we wake you?" She asked, glaring at Pakku, who smirked as Sokka guided Y/N back to the hammocks.

          "Careful, Y/N." Pakku called after her. "Lose your cool that fast, and you won't last a week, La's blessing or no."

          Y/N spun around, wide eyed, but the door had already shut, hiding him from view.  

                             —|➖◾️➖|—

                               Zuko's POV

          Zuko and Iroh were given a new ship, about the same size as the first. Almost everything aboard the old ship had been replaced, but the ship felt lifeless.

          Zuko stared at the waves below, barely visible now that the moon had set. It was too quiet all the time. He meditated without interruption. His late night walks around the ship weren't followed. He didn't get any sass, orders were followed, and no questions were asked.

                               —minor trigger warning for the next paragraph—

          He shuddered, remembering the last time he'd seen her. Zhao snapping in half, the blood running down both sides of the bridge, the blank but murderous look in Y/N's eyes as she twisted him until his bones couldn't take the pressure.

          After whatever had its hold on her let go, she had collapsed, sobbing. He hadn't the courage to run to her. Had she always possessed such power? Could she have split him in half the moment she wanted to? Saving her life, was it just a ruse so he would trust her?

          Instead of asking her, he ran, nearly slipping in the red on the otherwise clear ice.

          Now he wished he had run to her, wrapped his arms around her, shielded her from whatever force had made her scar herself forever. 

          No. He shook his head, burying his face in his arms, resting his forehead on the metal rail. Whether it was her power or not, lying to me or no, she's safer now.

           He looked up at the stars. They seemed dull. Whenever he and Y/N spent their sleepless nights on the main deck, the stars had shone so much brighter, allowing him to see her beautiful face, the points of light swirling in her E/C eyes when she looked at him.

          Zuko subconsciously ran his fingers along his jaw, where she'd kissed him. Right before he had knocked out her sister and took the Avatar, who he had lost. Again.

          She said the Avatar was hope. He thought, fidgeting with his fingers restlessly. If I finally caught him, and brought him home, would she come with me?

                              —|➖◾️➖|—

                                 Y/N's POV

          Y/N was assigned with watching Appa and Momo the next morning while Aang, Sokka, and Katara went to get earthbending lessons, or whatever was going on. They were received with welcoming cheers and open arms. Apparently the word of their victory had spread quickly.

          General Fong gave them a room with a small courtyard. Appa took a nap in the sun as Y/N assessed the supplies they had left, thinking ahead for traveling. She dug through the two main bags, hers and Sokka's.

          "What do you think, Momo?" She asked the lemur absentmindedly, setting empty water canteens and small packs of seal jerky to the side. Momo looked at her curiously, tilting his head to one side before snatching up a nut that had been sitting in the bottom of Sokka's bag, nibbling away at it.

          "Yeah, same here. Everything smells like Sokka. We need more spare clothes." Y/N threw all of their extra clothes to the side to be washed, picking up her own bag to go through it. It was a bit charred, and had some small holes in it, but it had been on her back when the explosion hit her head on.

          I'll just get a new one. She opened it, and dumped everything out, forgetting what had been inside. Earth Kingdom colored fabrics spilled onto the floor, along with various nicknacks she had acquired over the weeks.

          A small doll, given to her by a grateful Water Tribe child. She had been so excited to meet Y/N, apparently she had heard a lot about her, somehow. Y/N had been almost unable to accept it, given it was only hours after her possession. She didn't feel like a hero. 

          Still, the girl had made it herself, and she had seemed so sure Y/N was good. How could Y/N not believe her? The doll smiled up at her, an aura of hope around it. She liked it, a lot.

          A small stone carving from Zaji. Ironically, it was a jellyfish, beautifully carved with great detail. He had never told her where he'd gotten it.

          A small crescent necklace, a gift from Iroh. She had received it when she was busy, so she hadn't worn it yet, but she clasped it around her neck as she continued to sift through the clothes. 

          Y/N folded a few Earth Kingdom shirts, and spotted bright red in the pile of clothes. The original fire nation silks Zuko had given her. She hadn't worn them since the night they danced, thinking they were too nice and fancy to wear on a daily basis. Zuko begrudgingly gave her some more casual wear, but they had still been incredibly nice by normal standards.

          Y/N fished them out of the pile of green clothes, holding them up for a few moments to admire them. She had looked at them before, but all the small pieces of jewelry and beads hanging from the fabric were refined, clean, and caught the light in just the right way. Just like the rest of the clothes, they still smelled of the explosion smoke.

          She quickly changed into them, looking at herself in the full length mirror. She smiled to herself, slowly doing some of the Fire Nation dances she had learned at the party, eventually mirroring the steps of the female part of her favorite partner dance.

          It had been fast, but somehow controlled, along to a beautiful song. She hadn't a clue how to do it at first, but it had clearly been Zuko's favorite. He'd strode along the floor with such purpose and confidence, easily guiding her along.

          She had fallen into the rhythm quickly with his hands guiding hers, sliding along the floor with him, spinning around only to go the other way. There had been a lot of spinning, and since Y/N hadn't known what to do, she found herself dizzy multiple times. She fell twice, but both times Zuko had swooped her right back up before she could hit the ground, carrying her into the next move and making it look like the whole thing was done on purpose.

          Y/N stopped dancing, stopping in front of the mirror again.

          He had seemed mortified the last she saw of him. His face paper white, hand over his mouth as he stared at what used to be the Admiral. 

          Y/N had called to him, after she collapsed, but he was either too far, or her throat was too closed, or her voice indecipherable through the sobs.

          That, or he ignored her cries.

          Will he ever see me the same? She wondered, staring at her reflection. There was a monster hidden behind those E/C eyes she had thought she knew so well. 

          Her heart ripped in two at the thought of him being afraid of her. The moment she had reached up, touching the scar that marked his dishonor, she knew, no matter what happened, she could never see him as an acquaintance, a simple temporary ally.

         She kissed him on the edge of his jaw, unsure if he would be okay with anything more. 

          How did he see me before then?