The rain was falling down from the sky, soaking everyone who was standing in it without any protection. Thunder resounded as the lightning appaered again, only for seconds. Lightning. It was an awful memory to us all. Lightning was the cause of his death. Lightning was the element he was supposed to be able to handle. Lightning was the symbol of the one who had killed him, that brave, handsome guy. He was a hero, and would always be. He wasn't supposed to die. Not then, not ever. No one was supposed to die anyway.
“We will remember him as a loyal friend, lover for some, but we will mainly remember him as the hero he was, and still is, for saving his country. For saving the world.”
The tears were falling on the ground, together with all the raindrops. It was if the sky knew someone important had died. Someone important to me, to my friends, to the world. I still remembered what had happened as if it had happened minutes ago. It was the first time I was being friendly to him, and I have always regretted that I didn't start doing that any sooner.

  “Don't be stupid, Katara, I can handle it!”
“No, you can't, Zuko! Not without me! You've been always kind to me, even though I've been picking on you all the time. Now it's my turn to be kind.”
“Okay. If you have to.”
“Yes, I have to. It's my duty.”

  Nobody really knew what happened, no one except me. I saw the whole thing happening with my own, blue eyes. The same eyes that always rested on his back, but later on, on his face. His outstanding, but beautiful face. I had never seen a face like his, and for some reason, I was glad I hadn't.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Oh, was I looking at you? Sorry.”
“It's okay.” He smiled.
I hated that smile, it said he knew something.

  We sat around a campfire every night we were gone from the group. We had to do something, and we had to do it alone. We had stolen two black outfits to make us unrecognizable and put it on as soon as we could, and wore it constantly. If someone knew who we were, the whole mission would've been a big failure.
The campfires were cosy, too bad I was too much of a chicken to move closer, or even open my mouth. We only glared at each other, and that was that.

  “Maybe we should say something...”
“What? Do you have an idea?”
“No...”
“Nor have I.”
“Maybe...”
“Yes?”
“Never mind.”

  I hated the fact we never talked. The air was always filled with silence, things unspoken. And it kept filling. How many times had there been where I could say how much I cared that he had left his home to help us? How many times had I made obvious that I liked his company? How many times had he been oblivious to it, willingly or not? I learned that there are people who don't say a lot, but think a lot, and sometimes, you have to do the unexpected to get through their shield. And that was exactly what I did.

  “Zuko, I'm sorry.”
“About what?”
“Everything.”
“It's okay.”
“No, it's not. I've been treating you like filth when I should've treaten you like a friend.”
Then, I hugged him, holding him tight against me.
“What are you doing?” he whispered in surprise, although I could feel he didn't mind it.
“I'm treating you like a friend.”

  After that, things were much nicer and those silences were filled with words. Nice words, teasing words, words. Sentences. Conversations. The more I heard his beautiful voice, the more I wanted to be with him. It was wrong, yes, but who cared? We weren't meant to be, yes, but so what? Did we have to be 'meant to be' to be able to love each other? Not that we loved each other, I just had a great feeling when I was with him. Or is that how love is described?
Anyway, the days that had passed after we hugged were much nicer, and I didn't feel uncomfortable anymore. Neither did he, and I noticed that.

  “Why did you never tell me Mai was your girlfriend?”
“Hey, you never asked me!” he laughed.
“I never expected you two together... I always imagined you with a powerful bender...”
“Like you?”

  The rain was falling down from the sky, soaking everyone who was standing in it without any protection. Thunder resounded as the lightning appaered again, only for seconds. Lightning. It was an awful memory to us all. Lightning.
Azula. The bravest, most complicated person of us all got killed by his own sister.
Zuko. The meanest, most powerful person of the world killed her own brother.
I missed him. I missed him a lot. And I still do. I never got the chance to tell him what I felt for him. I never got the chance to tell him I loved him, and still do. I've ruined my chance for happiness by rejecting Aang, all because I love(d) that scarred Fire Nation prince. I gave up my future for him, and he died. It was like a part of me died as well, a part that I still don't have back.

  It was a rainy day, and I remember that I cried like I had never done before...
Because my lover had died.