A/N: I hope you all enjoy the final installment of Can't Forget You as much as I had writing it. It has been a rough but great ride and I think it taught a bit about being a better writer and how much I'm terrible at writing first person stories. Please do tell me what you think about conclusion and everything. Have a great read.

Chapter 5

A tiny smile naturally appears upon my face as I stare at the calendar. The big day: November eighth, is finally here. I do hope everything goes as planned. Being the eldest brought up the stereotype of always being the leader and taking charge, but my little brother has rightfully taken the position from me to plan the majority of the party. Speaking of him, I do hope he shows up for the surprise party. He said he would try his hardest to attend but made no promises. Since taking up the role as the royal advisor to our cousin Fire Lord Izumi, he has been extremely busy with his duties and barely sees or contacts any of us.

Upsetting thing about it all, is that neither my sis nor I have any room to talk. All of us have not been able to keep in contact with each other due to our busy lifestyles. With me, juggling my responsibilities as an waterbending instructor for the Avatar and my school in the South Pole, and sis being in the military and a mother of two -soon to be three. It honestly feels like we barely have time for ourselves. I know I felt like that a couple of times. Today is different though. Today is a special day for us all. A little something I thought up because of what happened two years ago. I do hope dad will like the surprise party.

We all need this after all.

Hearing the door to my hotel room opening, I don the navy blue long sleeve shirt that was on the foot of my bed and left. Sauntering into the next room I was immediately greeted with the lovely appearance of my wife. I had asked her to get some last minute art supplies and to pick up the guest of honor for the party.

Her frame shivers for a second while entering our room. "Spirits, it's cold out today," she says, closing the door with her foot.

I relieve her of the burden of carrying the bagged goods. "They say it will warm up by the time for the party." I take a seat on the carpeted floor, placing the bags in front of me. "Is our illustrious military family setting everything up at the place?"

"Yup, and they're whining through every second of it." She plops down on the couch with a huff and kicks her feet up, "Especially your sister, complaining that her firebending doesn't help her with this cold."

I chuckle; that sounds like her all right. Anju has always been a bit of a whiner. Guess it comes from her being the baby of the bunch. Don't tell her that though. She would argue religiously about it, saying that Katsu and her were born on the same day. Hehe, and Katsu, the matter-as-fact person that he is, always countered with him stating he was born two minutes before her. Then she would whine about that! Those two are a funny pair, sometimes really annoying too.

Like during our childhood, Anju was always trying to one up our dear brother to look better in mom's eyes. Agni, she was so unbearable back then. I had to leave the house at times because I couldn't deal with it. She is the main reason why I don't want children of my own.

Now that Anju is four months pregnant with her third child, she is reverting back to her old whiner self. You would think that she would get used to it since this is her third time popping one of those suckers out.

"On the brightside, you don't have to deal with them for another two hours." I take the art and crafts out of the bigger bag and place them to my right. Next, I take a wooden framed picture out of the other one.

The smile I wore just seconds ago was gone once I stare at the picture. My thumb instinctively starts rubbing the elegant carved frame. It is still hard to believe it has been two years since she sacrificed her life to save Korra's.

We did not have the model relationship like others. I was always rebelling against her till the day she passed away. I was quite free spirited during my teen years and she disliked that. She had set strict rules for us to follow. Rules that she had believed would make us succeed in life. But not all of us listened to her vast patronizing wisdom. Katsu was the only one who actually followed those ridiculous standards. Though he is now a royal advisor, he is a bit of ass because of those rules. At least in my opinion.

I jump slightly from a sudden touch on my shoulder. I turn to face my wife; her expression is that of understanding and sorrow. She knows full well how it feels to lose a parent. I shift closer to her, placing my head on her thigh. A tear is fighting desperately hard to escape its watery hole.

She slowly starts running her slender fingers through my long dark brown hair. "I miss her, Kya. I miss her so much."

"I know Li. I do too."

I bite my bottom lip as the tears won their hard fought battle and make their way down my face. "Do you think she would have forgiven me about what I said to her?"

"Of course she would," I yelp when Kya flick my head, "dum-dum."

I let out a short laugh at hearing my mom's old phrase. I used to laugh whenever mom said the same thing to dad when he felt down. Kya is truly the best gal I ever met. She just knows what to say to make me feel better. A smile is already at its rightful place on my face.

"I love you, Kya." I snuggle further into my wife's lap.

"Love you too, Li." She places a kiss on the top of my head.

"So, honey," dad starts, "where exactly are we going?"

I cannot help but roll my eyes at that question. I had told him about the party so many times now. "We are going to a surprise birthday party for a friend of the family." I turn left at the intersection. "Oh Kya, that's twenty by the way."

Kya grumbles under her breath. She has always been a sore loser. It makes winning against her feel so much sweeter. Plus, having twenty more yuan in my purse also feels great. Well, twenty more yuan in our purse but you get the idea.

Dad pushes his head to the front seat. He looks between us with skepticism written over his face. "Are you two betting how many times I ask a question again?"

I scoff at the acquisition. The audacity of him! How dare he ask such a rude question. "Duh, of course we are." Kya and I share a hearty laugh together. Kya and I had always bet on dad's forgetful mind since we were children.

Dad soon joins in our laughter. It is so pleasant to hear him laughing again. I haven't seen him like this since mom passed away. "You really are your Mother's child, you know that?"

"Thank you, I tried." I stop at the red light. "We are almost there Dad. About five more minutes till we'll arrive."

Five more minutes until the moment of truth. My heart starts to race at the very thought. Sweat starts to clam up my hands as I tighten my grip on the wheel. Would dad be angry at me for pulling such a stunt? I bit my bottom lip; dad rarely gets mad but when he does, it is never a pretty sight. He scares me more than mom does when she scolds me and that is saying something based on her notorious reputation.

"You okay, Li?" Dad asks me. He must have noticed me tensing up.

"She's fine." Kya answers for me. Glancing to my right I see her winking at me. "You know how nervous Li gets. Remember how she was for our wedding?"

The light turns green. I lightly press down the gas pedal to start moving. "Why do you have to bring that up?"

"Cause it was adorable." Kya coos annoyingly.

"Especially when she ran out mid-ceremony to throw up."

"Dad!" I whine. I knew one of them would bring that up. They start to laugh at my expense.

So I get a little nervous during events I'm part of or planned myself. I may puke or faint during said events because of the pressure. Plus, that only happened four times so far, so my record is pretty good, thank you very much.

Eh kind of good if I'm being truly honest. Each one of those terrible embarrassing times were during an event where all of my friends and family were involved.

"Kya, do you remember that time when Li fainted at her test for being a Master Waterb-"

"And we're here!" I say slamming on the brakes. I do not want to hear that story again. Agni, why does dad love to bring up that story so much?

We are parked in front of a large beautiful park. The lovely estate has been established since even before I was born. It does not have a very creative name though. It's called Blue Dragon Park due to the rare vibrant blue sunflowers that are named the same thing, being littered all around the decent sized land. Said flowers are known to only grow in the capital of the Fire Nation. Needless to say, mom used to love coming here and dragging us along with her. It was good to get out the growing hustle and bustle of the city.

We exit the rental, being welcome with a sudden chilled breeze. Dad shivers slightly from the sudden cold, but I took it in stride. Living in the frigid weather of the South Pole makes this chilly weather seem like summer in comparison. But the experience I had here during summer, was so much more fun than my home.

The Sun beat down on me, making me sweat hard when I had to work outdoors. All the neighborhood children playing on the streets with no care in the world.

Before the twins were born, we used to come to this very park every weekend during the summer. The reason as to why was because the sunflowers would only bloom during that season. It was always a breathtaking experience seeing them blossomed. I can still remember those fun childhood memories of mine. Mom, dad, and I would have picnics with their friends and their children. Sokka and dad joked while cooking food on the grill, and mom and Toph would chide them for their awful jokes. Oh, and Kya. I cannot forget about her. We used to play tag, practice our waterbending at the small pond, and chased the turtle-ducks around. I remembered how hard I cried whenever she had to leave too. Oh geez, looking back on it now I really had it bad for the woman.

When Anju and Katsu were born I thought we would stop going to our favorite park. But mom and dad would not tolerate them missing out on the fun. They had tried even harder to come to our park so they could enjoy the same childhood as I. I remember over hearing them one time, during one of our outings, saying that the reason why they tried so hard was because they had wanted Anju and Katsu to have the same amount fresh air and space they had when they were growing up. Those pleasant memories of us going to the park as a family are still so vivid in my mind.

The rays emitting from the Sun would usually graced us with a comfortable warmth during Summer, allowing us to wear shorts and thin t-shirts but not hot enough that it felt unbearable or drowning in our own sweat. Katsu would sit and watch his kite soar like a flying lemur in the beautiful clear skies. He likes the simple things in life, kind of like dad does. Anju and dad would just play catch or simply race each other. Anju usually won because of her hyperactive lifestyle. I would laugh almost non stop seeing her rubbing it in dad's face as he over exaggeratingly played the defeated loser. And mom, well, she took it easy whenever we went out. She plainly watched it all from afar on a bench. Sometimes she fed the turtle ducks that occupied the pond but most of the time, when it was just us, she just observed us with a content look in her eye.

Before she had retired, mom used to work as the Fire Nation representative for the United Republic Council. She was the very first one too so she was incredibly busy, sometimes coming home late at night or the very next day. She barely had times for dad, let alone any of us children. But she tried her damn hardest to make time for us. To show us she loved us. I just wished I had appreciated it back then.

Agni, I hate how stubborn I was.

"Why are we here?" Dad's question brought me out of memory lane. I guess it's because of the party that these nostalgic memories keep popping up.

"This is where we agreed to meet up Dad, remember?" His eyes no longer have the jollity it had moments ago. It looks so downcast. So lost of hope and will. Like when mom died in his arms.

"I-I guess I forgot again." Dad musters up a wistful smile but I can tell it was force. More force than the politicians that tried to butter me up to get on mom's good graces. "Well, we don't have that much time till the guest of honor arrives, right? We should hurry to the others."

Kya slaps him on the back, "That's the right attitude. Lead the way Li."

I lead the two further down the paved pathway. With each step we take, the greater the feeling of fear grew in me. Maybe this was a bad idea. What if dad just stops talking to us after this? What if he decides enough is enough and joins mom? I don't want to lose him.

I peer over my shoulder to see how dad is faring. He has been quiet since we arrived. I halt in my tracks seeing that he was not behind us. My frantic eyes search for him.

How did dad wander off from the group!

My racing heart starts to slow when I found him. He's in front of the pond the turtle-ducks used for their swimming pleasure. The same one mom used to sit nearby to feed the fauna. The turtle ducks are long gone since it is not even close to summer.

I can see he's trying to fight back the tears.

"Dad?"

"I'm fine." He says with his back facing me, slightly hunched over like he was about to crumble. "Jus…just give me a moment Xiaoli."

Dad rarely calls me by my full name. He knows I like being called Li because it makes me feel like we share a bond. It makes me feel like I'm his blood sharing a common name with him, rather than being adopted.

"Take your time Dad."

I spare Kya a pleading look; to comfort me with words, touch, or anything at all. She receives my message and taken hold of my hand. She gives it a slight squeeze and grants me a reassuring smile. She mouths; it's going to be okay before giving me a quick peck on the cheek.

It hurts to see dad like this.

After a couple minutes of silence, dad walks back to us. He mutters an apology before telling me to continue on. We walk the rest of the distance in a somber silence.

We see Anju and her husband waving at us from under a large gazebo. We wave back as we walk towards them. Kya and dad start talking to Anju's husband while I greet Anju with a big hug. I believe the last time I saw her was the birth of her second child. Way too long for my liking.

"Miss you sis."

"Miss you too Li."

We separate from each other. She has a sad smile on her face. Sis was not there when mom passed away. She was deployed and fighting pirates at the opposite side of the world at the time. When the news about mom finally reached her, she broke down almost as badly as dad did.

"Heard anything from the royal wannabe?" She says, stuffing her hands in her coat.

I chuckle at the diss about our brother. Somethings never change with the two. "No. He said he would try to come but no promises."

"Sounds like him." She says with a small huff. "If he had promised he would have to follow through on his word."

I clear my throat. "A royal is nothing without their word." I say with my best impression of mom.

She chuckle at my piss poor imitation. Good to see her laughing. A frown seems so wrong on her face. "Probably the only thing that stuck to all of us from mom's stupid lessons."

"Yeah." I notice the absences of children's laughter and dad's doting ways. "The kids at Tenzin's?"

"Yeah they are. You know those badass kids wouldn't stand still for a second for this party."

"True, and no offense, but Aang Jr. is kind of an asshole." I say with a grin. "I think he takes it after his mother."

"None taken and you're probably right. Bumi said the same thing a couple of times." She looks off at the distance. I follow her gaze to see what she is focusing on. We stare at dad laughing with his son-in-law. Glad to see Bumi is still a good comedian. "You think Dad will be upset with us for this?"

"Maybe, but it is something he needs. Something we all need."

"I guess." She sighs. I understand her hesitation. I really don't want to do this either. "Let's finish setting up for the birthday girl, huh?"

I smile but there is no happiness in it. "Yeah."

We sit around the long table that is able to fit us all. Bumi was lucky enough to find one to rent. Idle chatter fills the air while we wait for the agreed time. When the time finally arrived, I spare a glance at Anju. One last chance to back out. She nods her head for the go ahead. I sigh deeply but nod back in affirmation.

Here comes the birthday girl.

I slowly back out from the table. Everyone is looking at me. Agni, why was I the one who thought of this? "Well it looks likes it is about time for the party to start."

"We still have to wait for the guest dear. Where are they anyway? They should have already arrived, right?" Dad asks.

I swallow my nerves and anxiety down. Kya passes me the plastic bag carrying the guest of honor. "She's right here."

He tilts his head to the side. Confusion is written all over his face. Anju stand up from her chair too. She takes out a small bag she was hiding in her coat. She first takes out a small expensive gold plated incense holder that has the Fire Nation symbol proudly on display before placing two incense sticks in it. She then lit the sticks by pressing her fingertips together on the sticks.

Anju moves to the side so I can bring out the birthday girl. I take the frame picture of mom out of the bag and place it to the right of the burning incense.

"What is this?" Dad stares at everyone, looking like a cornered rat. He narrows his jade green eyes at me. "Xiaoli what is this?"

"It's a surprise birthday party," I look down. I can still feel his eyes looking at me; disappointed at me pulling this stunt, hating me even. "For Mom."

"For Mom?" Dad asks, clearly stupefied by my answer.

"Yes Dad." Anju quickly came to my defense. "Li, Katsu, and I planned this becau-"

"No." He simply says. "No!" He roars.

I flinch when he raised his voice. Dad only raises his voice a handful of times. Enough times that it scares me to the bone when he does so. Anju wraps her arm over my shoulders.

"Dad, please just lis-" Anju try pleading but he abruptly stand up from his chair causing it to fall to the ground.

"No. I'm not-I just-no." Dad keeps shaking his head in denial. He starts pacing back and forth. "Why would you think this-"

"Because Father, you left us with no alternative."

I look behind dad with wide eyes. It's Katsu! He actually made it.

Katsu deliberately had taken his time making his way to Anju and I. He grace us with a tiny smile before facing our dad with a stern expression. "Father, when Mother passed away you denied us our right to hold a funeral for her. None of us had a chance to say our goodbyes to her. None of us had a chance to even grieve before you buried her."

Dad keeps pacing back and forth, looking more hysterical by the second. I can see tears running down his face. "I just-I don't-Az was-"

Anju takes a step forward. "Dad, ever since she passed away it just seems like you are just trying to forget about her. Like you wish she never existed in the first place."

"No! No, I-"

"Dad," He looks at me. His eyes are completely red. I can see the inner turmoil in them. His sadness, his regret, everything he had bottle up since mom passed away. "I miss her too. We all miss her. It is okay, Dad."

"I..." He closes his eyes like he is in extreme pain. He suddenly drops to his knees. We all rush towards him. "I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry. It just hurts. It hurts so much to think about."

We all hug dad. We all cry. We all grieve.

"Why her birthday?" Dad asks us. "Why not the day she-"

I smile at him, tears still fresh on my cheeks. "Because why would we commemorate her passing, when we can celebrate the day she was given to us."

I continue to stuff my face with the most delectable mac and cheese I ever had. Katsu had the royal chef cook this before he left and Agni is it delicious. Wish I was an advisor to a nation's leader. I want to eat irresistible food like this everyday.

Katsu is telling everyone about a funny meeting he had with our cousin. Bumi starts to laugh his pants off at the end of the tale. Anju is trying to calm her husband down but she is failing terribly. She is laughing too hard as well. Happy to see he is finally able to tell a good story, that old stick in the mud.

I kiss Kya on the cheek and entangle my hands with hers. So happy she is here with me. I wouldn't be able to handle this without her emotional support.

"Um, can I get your guys attention?"

We turn our attention to dad. Wonder what he has to say? Whatever he has to say he looks extremely nervous. You got this dad.

"Near the end of the war, I tried to forget about your Mother. I thought she had died in a battle. It was hard to think about, so I tried to move on and forget about her completely." He takes a slight pause. "When I saw her again at the royal palace, I realized how much of a fool I was in trying to bury those feelings down."

He rubs his eyes. Kya have to actively hold me down when I noticed his tears. She shakes her head, telling me don't. With a tiny huff, I begrudgingly relax back in my chair.

"I tried to do that again when she passed away. I didn't want to think about…" He grabs his drink and downs it. "I did not want to think about not coming home to her anymore. Today though, today you all show me once more how foolish I was."

He walks towards the end of the table. My heart clenches when he picks up the frame picture of mom. "Your Mother would have been so proud of you guys for doing this. A little pissed because you know how much she dislikes surprises, especially the party kind," we all chuckle form that statement. Mom did hate being surprised. "But proud nonetheless. I wished I could see the look on her face when shown how much she was loved." He place the picture back down. "It would have been priceless." He stares at us. I can see the hint of fear in them. "Can we do this every year?"

"Of course we can, Father." Katsu answers immediately. "I promise to bring Ila next time."

"And you know I love an excuse to get away from the kids." Anju says, mirth lace in her voice.

I place my hand on top of dad's. I can see a tiny twinkle in his eye. "I think Mom would like that very much. Next year though, let's hold back on crying. You know what Mom always says."

Dad, Anju, and Katsu start laughing at the inside joke. Mom used to say this phrase all the time whenever we started crying. Whether it is because we scraped our knees or we broke up with our boyfriends. No matter what, mom was always there for us wiping away the tears and say to us,

"Royals don't cry." We all say together like a family.

THE END

A/N: I hope you enjoy it. This ending was something I always had in mind for this story but didn't know how to go about it. If you like this, you might like Pen Pal which is set in Legend of Korra. I'm finishing up that story as we speak.

Till Next Time.