I can't always just forget her
But she could try

(zuko's point of view)
*FLASHBACK*
i remember when we first met. i stood with my father and sister Azula, on the icy shores of the northern water tribe, having
just gotten off the hunk of metal my father called a boat. I was dressed in the thin silken black and red robes of fire nation
royalty and realized an importaint truth. silk doesn't hold heat. i was freezing, my teeth chattering, and my semi-bald head
was frozen, i tried not to sniff, and kept my head held high, back straight, shoulders out. i looked ridiculous, and thats how
she first saw me. she stood on the ramparts, of thier well-built ice fortress. she was beautiful, her long brown hair was braided
tightly behind her back, hair loops, framed her face and warm ocean colored eyes, her face was not set in a grim line, like her
brothers, behind and beside her. she looked in fact mildly curious, the woman next to her, however glared with barely conealed
dislike, her white hair blending in with the snow around her. Behind them stood, Master Pakuu and his wife Kanna, to thier side
was Hakoda, the prince, and his man Bato. they all watched us approach, not so much as moving a hair, like silent judging statues.
my father moved forward, his dark robes swiriling around him, in a overly dramatic movement. Azula, wore a normal fire nation
soliders uniform. i was dressed much like my father, but without the grace, as we walked toward the opening in the wall of the fortress
i slipped on the path and ended up knee deep in what i had mistakenly thought was a solid pathway.
"hehehe" i looked up at the sound of giggling, a tinkling laughter like the sound of bells, and the other was the sound of water
running over the rocks, it was the two girls. they both had thier hands over thier mouths, gigiling for all they were worth. i flushed with
embarassment, and as i did so my body temptaure rose accordingly, the crisp fresh snow around me began to slowly melt, and steam around me.
i quickly stepped onto the path behind my father again, but it was too late, others had noticed to, I saw a twinkling in Master Pakuu's eye, and
the one in his wife's matched the one in the beuatiful, brown-haired girls. i looked over at Azula as we moved on, the procession momentairly
halting to allow me to re-join, there was a smirk written over her features.
"Don't worry Zuu-zuu," she whispered as we walked forward," i fell the first time we were here too." i almost sighed in relief, until she
continued. "of course, it wasn't as importaint as this marriage negotiation, but i'm sure, father didn't notice." that was Azula for you, a grain of
comfort quickly followed by an insult, to cover up the  momentairly lapse in her attitude.
I looked forward at the back of my father's head. He was walking rigidly, and i knew he had noticed, but ignored it as if it had never happened.
I sighed inwardly, i could not ever do things right when under pressure. we were ushered forward thru the city and to a large building, almost an arena,
where the negotiations were being held. on one side importaint water tribe members, sat watching calmly, on the other side, fire nation nobility, and genral's
sat, some twitching nervously, the fire natio meet here as a sign of good faith, but not all of us had agreed to it.
We walked in beside the highes ranking water tribe members Master Pakku next to Mistress Kanna, My father standing alone. then my sister Azula on the
left side of my father, i on the right, shoulder to shoulder with me was the brown haired girl, next to her was the white haired, one and holding on to that
girl's hand, was the man who was very obviously the brown-haired girl's brother. my heart hammered loudly, as she glanced over at me, her eyes piercing thru me.
her looks was curious, and judging, she seemed as if she was holdng back on something, some bit of emotion.
An insane idea ran thru my head then, i wanted to grab her hand and hold it in my own, to let her know it would be okay, that there was nothing to be
worried about. i knew however, that it would cause such an uproar, that all negotiations would be broke down, so i did not act on the impulse. Instead i gave her
a small encouraging smile. She looked at me, her lips twitched, but before i could see a full fledged smile, she faced the waiting crowd. i sghed again, this time
outloud, and turned to face forward as well. I did however catch sight of Azula staring at me, a broad grin splitting her face, mirth twinkling in her cruel golden eyes.
*laugh it up Azula* i thought, but you will never rule the fire nation, you're not a fire bender,  and i am the only one besieds Iroh who's part of the bloddline.*
My uncle Iroh marched striaght behind me, dressed as he always, was in his out of date solider's uniform, on his side behind Azula was Admiral Zhao, wo was to be
kept close to us, no one not even my father completely trusted him, not even my father. on the water tribes side, thier equivalent to Iroh and Zhao were Hakoada and Bato.
we each sat in front of our respective sides and faced our, counterparts. A water tribe genral, or noble someon i only vaugely recognized stood up.
"Welcome, fire nation delegats, nobles, and other hig ranking members"
is sighed glumly, putting my head in my hands. i looked over at the her table as the man blattherd on pompusoly, the girl was talking to her friend now, they were smiling.
she turned her face to me, stared me straight in the eye and held her smile, i perked up, and the man stopped talking. Pakuu rose his arms in the air signaling silence.
the negotiations had begun.

we had run into each other much later, and sheinvited me to the festival, but dressed secretly. i was suspicious but i agreed. i went and had the most fun since, my mother had died. there
were so many things to see, the shaved ice, with flavored and the iced cream made my tastebuds squeal with joy. we toured the place i watched water benders  dance, and do impossible things with
thier bending. MY faviorite was the goldfish game. a water bender would bend, making a water whip, circling it around themselves, the kids, playing with it, then they would bring it back to a tank
dunk it in and when they pulled it out, a single goldfish was trappd in it. the waterbender would then circle it around thier head, daring someone to cathc the fish. the customer with the net would
step forward, and try to catch the fish, all the while the waterbender would move the fish and water in intricate designs, keeping the fish out of reach of the customer, and entertaining at the same
time, all the while keeping the fish alive and safe. i was so frustrated, and my arms up to my elbows were soak, but i was completely enthralled by the time i caught the fish. i put it back into the
tank and the kids crowded around me, clapping my back and congratulating me.

i was flushed and having fun, but at the same time i was puzzled. why was this woman being kind to me? why did she wan to learn about me? i was suspicous. i'd had this trick pulled on
me before, they'd be kind, and then when you're alone they'd cut you down to size with a rud comment, or cruel prank. so even though i was having fun i was wary. then she invited me on to a gondola
ride, an ice boat. it raised my hackles but i wen with her, hoping that maybe, just maybe, this one person wouldn't hurt me. i had been dissapointed, but at the same time saved. she had insulted me
callously, then corrected herself. i don't know what happened one minute i was yelling at her, while secretly admiring teh way the Painted lady costume looked on her, the next i was spillking my guts out.
i hadn't expected any response bu pity, instead she had told me it wasn't my fault, and before i could really reply, poured her heart out to me. our stories were much the same, the only diffrence in them really,
was us. i think i loved her the moment i saw her face peering over me at the ice wall, but when we had shown each other our hearts i fell in love with her. we cuddled looking at stars and talking. i stiffned as her
brother and his fiance`, floated byt and i knew they recognized it, i wasso nervous i kept my head turned nad tried not to look at them. when they passed katara i asked if it was okay to continu going unmasked . i
was relived when she said yes.
after we had gotten off the gondola and th girl called Yue led Katara away her brother confronted me.
"what the hell do you think you're doing?!" he hissed trying to be angry but not wanting to raise his voice and get us all caught.
"talking to my fiance`." i said flatly, strippinf off my shoes, and switching my pants. i wasn't afraid to change in front of this man. He was protecting his sister, something i would have done for Azula. HA. yeah,
rifht as if she needed it. she'd probably turn it around on me.
"the hell you were!" he said shoving his pointer finger in my chest, as i pulled down the shirt.
"listen "i said, grabbing his finger and holding it tightly, in my fist, letting my body tempature rise a trifle. " i will never hurt katara, she is like a small fire-lily, so beautiful, vibrant, and alive,but at the same
time she is fragile, in need of sheltering. i would never harm her or her reputation." i told him, squeezing his finger a little tighter, to show him i was completely seirous, if the emotion in my eyes didn't, that would.
Then i let go. he stared at me for ahwile looking confused, and slightly mollified. finally he spoke.
"well! uhm, i was trying to tell you how to take care of her, but uh...you already can see it." he murmered looking worried, his eyebrows knit together," i wanted to look impressive and be reaming you out when
Yue and Katara came out, so i'd look good to them both." i sighed, looking at his face, was he serious? he continued, completly oblivous to my skeptical look. "so when they come out i'm gonna raise my voice, and look chargined
please?" he said pleadingly.
"you know you're completly pathetic, right?" i said flatly giving him a funny lo0oking gaze. he grinned from ear-to-ear, i got the feeling he did that alot.
"yup."he replied shrugging it off like it was no big deal"oh, here they come, ready?"
He suddenly spoke, making it seem as if he hadranting on for ahwile. I heard the girls clear thier throat's and i got the feeling that they weren't buying it anymore than i had. NO one said anything however, and Sokka got
away with it. After some good natured poking and teasing we left our seperate ways.
As we walked down a deserted alleyway, holding hands my hear danced happily, i was glad just to be near her, and to even hold her hand made me smile like a goofy-eared doggeret. "so, what is the engagment custom of
your people." i asked nonchalantly. she didn't seem to be paying close attention to our conversation so i hoped that i could get away with it. it worked.
"the same as men everywhere, they give us a necklace with our naations symbols on it. in Gran-Gran and Grandpa Pakuu's case, it was simple he hand carved her the symbol of the water tribe out mantawhale bone. In the case of my
cousin, laeta and her fiance` it was the earthbenders symbol mixed with the watertribe one, he carved it fo her out of pure obsidian. spirits know how." katara mumbled under her breath. "but only special pairings actualy hand carve it most others
just buy a really expensive and fancy one." she said, reciting looking at the stars, and, then picking her way thru an icy garden. ice figurines and snow models wree everywhere, everything from a rose made entirely of snow, too an entire tree made
of ice, the actually had snow-fruit hanging from it. it'd be great to get a hand made one though..."she said wistfully, and i watched her face as she said. her eyes sunk inward, and she looked so sad, and beautiful. that i resolved then and there to
make her one by my own handcs, no matter how many failures there were.
"okay, so how are we going to do this?" i asked as we stood four floors below my room, staring straight up a wall made entirely of ice and snow. she stepped back and began to bend. my breath caught as i watched her, her hair fanned
out behind her, as she moved and swirled. Soon she had made a flat square of snow that melded with the side of the building. i gave her a puzzled look and she smiled at me, my heart thumped at the sight.
"step on." she said, and i did. there wasn't alot of room and we stood to close, and i just wrapped my arms around her, using the excuse that i didn't want her to fall. it may have been just my imagination,  but it seemed like she was moving slower
than she needed to. i didn't complain. once we got to the room she peeled the wall down like an orange. i now understood fully, why it was such a big concesscion for us to be here negotiating, instead of back at home. i stepped in, letting her go reluctantly.

i din't know what ot say so i stamered out some lame assed words "well, ..i guess...uh... i'll see you tommorow." i said awkwardly stammering it out  she looked up at me her face caught somewhere between amusment and pain. i didn't like the
sadness in her eyes. she moved forward a little and the next thing i knew i had my arms wrapped around her as tight as i could, not wishing to let her go. she clung to me like a child, scared in the dark. she looked up to me as she clung , and one of her hair loops
slid across her face, i pushed it out of her face and left my hand on her forehead, to keep her hairloops from just falling back into place, and partly as an excuse to keep touching her. i looked at the woman in my arms closely, it seemed as if she was framed by
the light of the crescent moon and, stars behind her, she was the most breathtaking woman i had ever seen, she was like a silvery moon spirit.
We were suddnely kissing, i dont know if i initiated it or she did but it was......undescribable she tasted like the rain, and smelled like the sweet lilys that i had pet named her. the kiss was gentle at first as if we were afraid to give more, but then i turned fierce
desperate, i tried to let her know how much i loved her with that one kiss and she reponeded, kissing back just as lovingly. it was that long until we broke aprt, but it had felt like a perfect moment to me. she still clung to me her face buried into my chest as she clutched
the front of my shirt. "i love you, zuko." she whispered, her voice full of tears. i dont know if it is possible for a heart to vreak and swell with love at the same time, but mine did. i sighed happily, moving my hand, brushing her hair out of her face.
"i love you, my fire lily" i whispered to her sweetly, "my katara." i let go of her as she pulled away, and i watched as she brought the wall back up concealing her from my sight. i sttod and watched the spot where she had been, my heart beating slowly.
i'd never felt so lost, or lonely.

we had been married a year and a month or so later, the ceremony bein held in the earth kingdom, since everyone on both sides had argued wanting it to be thrown in thier, country we chose a neutral one. i remember the cermony clearly, it was pompous and boring full of
all the reagal hoo-haw and decorations, that were required. i remeber the way my robes pooled around me, and how iritated i was worrying that i was going to fall. KAtara was wearing very ornamented and traditional stled robes of blue ang gold on a white background. she was stunning.
but i walways thought she was anyway, we said our vows, and things went off without the least little hint of a problem. it didn't strik me until we were finally alone in our own chambers that it hit me.
no one could  seperate us now, we were well and truly bonded. i had sat on the edge of the bed, by no means was i a virgin, but i knew she was, and i was still as nervous as a mother turtleduck. katara walked in the room wearing thin straped short robe that fell frothily above her
knees. she didn't say a word, just glanced, down shyly, pulling one strap of the dress of her shoulder. i was rivited of course. she looked up at me, coyly, seductively. it turns out that i needn't have worried.

*FLASHBACK END*

The wind blew icily through my now long hair, almost tangling it in my new crown. it felt odd, seeing the Northern water tribe again. " Fire Lords Zuko, " my uncle's
harsh voice, pierced my revierie." we will be there soon, the Water tribe soliders are waiting for us." i sighed and looked down at my uncle.
"last time i set foot on these shores, i was a prince, nervous about my political marriage, and resentful to the woman i hadn't even met, who i though had stolen my future." I
looked at the fortress, and the soldiers standing solidly, several on each side, grimly waiting for our boat to dock.
" You are thinking of your young wife?" he said looking at me slyly, his hands folded behind his back, as we turned and walked on the dock. "it turns out she did not steal
you're future at all."
I smiled at him, "she was in fact my future, and now she carries ours proudly, i can't forget her, and put my mind on business now, though she has assured me she will, be fine and
tried to convince me that she won't do anything rash." my uncle smiled, tho a little sadly, possibly at the the memories of his own son, , his eyes crinkled and he opened his mouth, probably
to give me some inane, yet sage advice.
" Forgive me, My lord for interupting your musings, but why would your little wife do anything rash? we are not invading simply, coming to speak to the Avatar, who is holed up here.
she would not risk the life of your child for such a petty reason." Admiral Zhao's smooth voice, interupted us, and i almost growled at the sound. he was smooth, slippery, and utterly void of
emotion. he stood arms behind his back, smiling at my uncle and i."it is simply routine, however there is something that does require your attention,  you need you to de-brief the soliders,
before going ashore.
I simply looked at him not saying a word, as he opened the door that led depper into my ship. i simply swept by him and let him take my silence as an answer. We had found that the Avatar
had come to the Northern water tribe and demanded and auidence with them, Prince Sokka, and his new wife, YUe, the girl with the white hair, had sent a messenger hawk straight to us. My Beautiful
Katara , and i, along with my unlce and several bodyguards had been vacationing in Ba-Sing se. Zhao had been nearby in Omashu, being watched, (i had told him it was a mission) by King Bumi. We had
commandered him, his soldiers and this ship, only sending word that we were arriving to Master Pakuu when we wre nearly there. so, yes i was worried, this visit could be seen as hostile on those
grounds alone. Add  the fact that i had a disgruntled genral, and his loyla soliders, at my back, going to visit my wife's, home, without her, to visit a Spiritual legend, a hostile, Rouge Avatar,
who had not invited to talk to us? yes, i wa worried about katara and what she would do, knowing how bad the circumstances could get.
i closed my eyes, for a second trying to gain control of my spiraling thoughts.
*katara, my love, my heart, please be safe at home, you and our child, are my whole world, i know, i know you want me to not worry,but please* we reached a larger metal door at the end of a hallway that
led into a room where i knew the soliders were waiting to see the Fire Lord, not a husband worrying for his wife.
* be safe" i whispered, before straightning up and walking into the room, smiling confidently.