Fragile Heart - chp. 1

Fragile Heart - Chapter 1
Zutara

NOTE: If you're one of those Kataangs: don't even bother to comment. This is a Zutara story, take it or leave it!

The orange afternoon sun reflected in the calm pond before him. Zuko had been pacing back and forth in front of the huge oak tree casting a dark and cold shadow over the pond area in the garden.

It had been almost a year since he and Mai got back together again and they were getting pretty serious. She had even sort of moved in with him at the palace, only a few days now and then she would return to her actual home, but it wouldn't be long before she came back and then she just stayed for a few days.

He had gotten used to having her around all the time, sleeping by her side every night, listening to her soft breathing as she slept. He knew she would kill him if she ever was to find out that he sometimes watched her sleep.

The thought made him shiver with a feeling of love and devotion to the melancholy girl he had fallen in love with.

Her ill-temper was just another thing he loved about her. And how she always looked on the gloomy side of things and was so serene and calm. Always controlled and calm.

And since things were getting so serious between them the thing he was about to do just seemed the right thing at this moment.

And it was just a matter of time before it became the only right thing to do. Why not do it now while they were still young and their love still blooming?

His eyes lifted and he gazed upon the afternoon sky. The sun was setting, bathing the Fire Nation in colours of orange and deep red. He smirked to himself, this was defiantly the right time and place.

"Hey there. You wanted to see me?" The black-haired girl entered the garden looking firmly at her boyfriend and he turned to face her, face lighting up in a somewhat soft smile.

"Yes. Thanks for coming." He struggled to find the right words, no matter how many times he had practised in front of the mirror(about 8 times this very day and a dozen the day before), he just couldn't seem to find the right words at the moment when it actually counted.

He gestured for her to sit down at a pile of pillows, strategically placed against the tree-trunk to make this whole situation more romantic - even though he knew she wasn't the type of girl to care for romantic gestures.

"Please sit down." He said while giving a vague smile lowering his eyes to the ground, too nervous to face her calm and questioning face. "Um, ok."

She placed herself on top of the pillows, looking up at him waiting for whatever was to come next. Seeing him like this; nervous and uncertain of what to say, made her a little uneasy about the whole situation and the thought behind it.

"So what's on your mind, Zuko?" She asked, folding her hands carefully on her lap biting her bottom lip.

"Well, as you may know, next month is our one year anniversary since we got back together. And we've been spending a lot of time together these last few months. And.." He frowned a little before finding the right words to express these deep feelings inside of him.

"What I mean to say is.." He bent down before her, reaching for something in his pocket and handing it to her. "Mai," She looked down on what he was now holding in his hands, here eyes widened as her reflection got caught in the red rubies decorating the gold necklace. "Will you marry me?"

A moment of uncomfortable silence. He swallowed. This was not the kind of silence he wanted. This was a nervous, stuffy silence. The once that only warned that something bad was to come next.

"Zuko." She breathed, her hands clinging to the deep red garment of her dress. Her eyes still fixed on the beautiful ruby necklace he held before her. "I'm sorry." Eyes closing and head lowering to the ground. "I can't."

She rose from the pile of pillows, looking down on him. Now it was his turn to not return her look. He was still bent in the same position, arms reaching out, hands clutching to the necklace. "I don't think this is right. I can not marry you Zuko. You know just as much as I that we're not meant to be. I'm really sorry you got the idea that we were ever to be such a couple. But I've been thinking about it for a while, ever since the Avatar and his friends were here to visit us last month. We were never meant to have e future together, well, at least not like this. I'm sorry Zuko."

She walked away, leaving him alone underneath the giant oak tree, dropping the necklace to the ground and shadows of the night closing in on his kneeling figure like a thick blanket.


- - -


"What's on your mind, Katara?" He tried to kiss her, but she shifted so that the kiss cheriched her cheek instead. The bald kid frowned a little and sat down beside her on the rock she was sitting on. "What is it? Did I do something wrong?"

The blue-eyed girl turned her head to face him and she shook her head while trying to find a way to express her feelings in words.

She, a strong water-bending master, rumoured to be the best water-bender in the country, now felt weak and powerless to what she was about to face.

The truth. The truth of her feelings. Being honest to the one person she cared most about in the whole world. The one person who had been there for her for the last three years. Making her laugh, cry and teaching her how to love again.

Now she was forced to tell him that something wasn't right. That somehow her feelings were mixed and something was not they way it should be.

It really hurt, knowing that she might hurt him. She knew how much she meant to him, and yes, he meant just as much to her. But maybe not in the same type of way.

"I've been thinking a lot recently, and I just.. What I mean is.. I'm just so confused." She forced herself to keep looking at the younger boys face, even though her inner voice screamed to avoid his eyes, it would only make things more difficult seeing his reaction to what she was about to say.

But at the same time it would also give him a chance to look at her and see for himself how confused and messed up she felt.

"Aang, I don't think this is going to work." He grabbed her hands, but she quietly pulled away, turning her head and avoided his eyes.

He tried to catch them again, but she refused to look at him now. Tears welling up in the corner of her eyes.

"What do you mean this isn't going to work? Is it something I've done? Please, tell me Katara." It wasn't hard to see how she struggled an inner battle with herself, trying to stay calm and controlled.

"No, no. It's not something you've done Aang, you've been nothing but great. I just think I can go on like this anymore. My feelings are just so conflicted and I feel so confused. I don't think I have the same feelings for you as I had before. I honestly think it was a mistake that we ever got together."

She managed to force herself to face him now. She could see how hurt he felt, the pain in his eyes nearly screamed at her and made her feel even worse than she already did.

It was almost like she'd ripped his heart out, right before his eyes. They pain shot her in the chest and tears started falling down her pale cheeks. "I'm sorry Aang. But I don't think we can be together."

She looked away again. This was just too hard for her. "I don't think we should be seeing each other. At least not for a while."

The terror welled up in the boys face and he nearly jumped down from the rock, standing before her, forcing her to meat his eyes.

"What do you mean?" He asked. "I don't mean like forever, I just think that it would be best if we weren't to see each other for some time. I've already talked to Sokka and he has agreed to take me to Ba Sing Se to visit Toph for a while."

She bit her bottom lip, trying her best to avoid the pair of grey eyes looking up on her. "I still want us to be friends though. And I still love you, very much, but only in the same way I love Sokka, like a brother."

He breathed and his arms went limp against his body, staring at the ground beneath him. "I always feared that this day would come, but I secretly hoped it wouldn't, that somehow you would learn to love me the same way I love you."

She gasped for air as the tears just started flowing down her face, she covered her mouth, as if it would help her control herself.

"I'm so, so sorry." "It's ok. I understand." He looked upon her and gave her a vague, fake smile. "I'm still gonna love you though, no matter what happens. And I agree, maybe it would be best if you left for a while. It would give us both some time to think."

Suddenly Momo appeared from nowhere, flying up on the boys shoulder. He met his pet's eyes and smiled before looking at Katara again. "I could really need some time to clear my head and process this."

He paused for a second before continuing "When are you leaving?" "Tonight" she mumbled under her breath, staring down at her feet. "Oh I see." "I've already packed." He nodded. She came down from the rock and stood there in front of him not knowing what to do next.

"I'm sorry about this Aang, you are what I want, but obviously you're not what I need. I Need to figure out what it is that I'm missing in my life, to find the thing I need."

He nodded again, then smiled a little. "I'm really gonna miss you Katara, and I hope that you find whatever it is that you're seeking." He took a step towards her, hesitating for a moment before embracing her in a comforting hug.

"When you find it, I hope you come back to tell me what it is." He whispered before parting from her and leaving her there by herself.


As soon as he were out of sight, Katara fell down on her knees, burying her face in her hands crying her heart out.


As dusk arrived the shadows grew longer and darker around her. She was standing down by the beach saying goodbye to all of her friends at Kyoshi Island. She really had picked the wrong time to spring the news to Aang. They were visiting Sokka and Suki and their other friends at Kyoshi Island, but she knew somehow, deep inside, that it had been the right time and the right thing to do. It couldn't be postponed any longer.

Both Sokka and his fiancé, Suki, were waiting for her down by the boat. As she approached them, Suki came towards her and gave her a comforting hug. "I fully understand you, Katara." She said and smiled at her, giving her another hug for good look on her journey.

Sokka leaned against the small boat that was going to take them out to the ship waiting for them. "Well I don't." He said a little too cold.

"You were so perfect for each other!" He exclaimed, waving his arms around. "I just don't get you girls." He sighed, looked up to see the teary face of his little sister, then gave weak smile and put a hand on her shoulder.

"But I support you in everything you do little sister. Who knows, maybe after some time with Toph you will get some sense knocked into your skull and you will come to your senses again." This resulting in a painful hit on the back of the head, from Suki.

"Don't pressure her you jerk!" She snapped, giving him an evil glare. "If I find out you've been harassing her about her choice when you return, I would feel very sorry for you, ve-ry sorry!"

He swallowed and hurried to guide his sister in the boat. "C'mon Katara, we have to go, wouldn't want to make dad wait now would we?" He gave a small nervous laugh and looked back at his girl, she was looking at him with a determined expression on her face, folding her arms in front of her chest.

"I mean it, Sokka." "I know you do." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before pushing the boat out in the water. "I'll be back in a couple of days." He said, she simply snorted and glared at him.

Katara sat in the front of the small boat, tears falling down her face again. She just hoped that this was the right thing to do.