It'd been a week since Rayna woke up, but she was still confined to the room because Katara insisted that she needed to take care of Rayna's wound for a little longer. Although Rayna was annoyed and wanted to leave just to spite Katara, she knew that she promised Zuko she'd take care of herself from now on as best as she could. Besides, it's not like she was lonely or anything. Everyone decided to stay in the Fire Nation capital until Rayna was fully healed, so they made sure to keep her company (almost to the point where Rayna wished she could be alone). At the same time, the gaang was going to Ba Sing Sae soon and they insisted that Rayna go with them, so they saw no point in leaving while she was still recovering.

On the other hand, it felt like people were spending so much time with her because they were worried they wouldn't see her again. After she woke up, and after being caught up on everything, Morro pulled her aside to tell her that she needed to think about what she wanted to do after she was fully healed. She could either stay with Zuko; go with Aang, Katara, and Sokka to aid in the relocation of Fire Nation colonials; or go back to Zai with Morro, Loch, Saber, Zed, and Aram. If she could have her way, she'd do all the above— but she knew that wasn't really a viable option.

Her instinct told her to go back to Zai with her family. She wanted Zai to be a safe haven for mixed families, families who'd lost their homes during the war, or even those trying to start anew— just like it used to be. Along with that, Zuko had promised to help with Zai's restoration by sending as many resources and aids as he could. On the other hand, she felt it was her duty to continue helping Aang in his effort to create a new era of peace and harmony, and if that meant aiding in the relocation of Fire Nation colonials, she'd do it. But then there was Zuko. It was more than just loving him and wanting to stay by his side, she also worried about him. She knew he'd be under a lot of pressure and would likely make just as many enemies as allies; she wanted to support and be there for him in the difficult times to come. She also knew that he heavily relied and depended on her, which therefore put a lot of pressure on her to stay with him. She was at a complete utter loss as to what she should do, and thinking about it only made her more anxious.

Meanwhile, Zuko was also anxious. Obviously, he was nervous about the whole firelord thing and working to overturn and fix everything the Fire Nation, and his father, had broken. At the same time, like every teenage boy, he was anxious about Rayna's decision. He knew that wanting Rayna to stay with him was unrealistic, but he was a teenager in love and he wanted him and Rayna to be together forever— no amount of reality checks could stop his feelings. On a similar note, he and Rayna hadn't had any alone time since she woke up. He wanted to sit and talk with her, but every time they tried to be alone, someone else would show up. He knew that everyone had the right to hang out with Rayna, but it was frustrating nonetheless. He and Rayna hadn't even kissed or snuggled or held hands since she woke up. It's not like it was forbidden to show affection around other people, but he knew it made Rayna uncomfortable. Besides, other people would likely ruin the atmosphere.

One day, after a long series of meetings, Zuko decided to walk to Rayna's room and hopefully get a chance to spend some time with her. But when he got to her room, she wasn't there. Zuko looked around but only saw one of the servants.

"Good evening, Firelord Zuko," the servant said pleasantly.

"Where's Rayna?" he responded.

"First of all, it's improper to respond that way," she scolded, "Secondly, the young lady is currently outside,"

"How did she get outside? Did she sneak out on her own?"

"No, Firelord, I was the one who told her to go outside,"

"But she is supposed to stay in!"

"If I may speak out of turn, it's unfair to keep that poor girl cooped up in this room. Although I do understand your overwhelming concern for her health and safety, she shouldn't be confined to her room like a prisoner. Besides, it's a beautiful day and some sunshine and fresh air will do her some good,"

Zuko paused, "Do you know where she is outside?"

"I believe she went to the Turtle Duck pond," she responded, "Perhaps you should join her. You yourself could use some sunshine and fresh air, and it's no secret that you care deeply for the young lady. Use this time wisely," she winked before leaving the room.

Zuko immediately proceeded to the pond. The servant was right, he needed to use this time wisely. It was perhaps the only chance of being alone with Rayna before going to Ba Sing Sae, and after Ba Sing Sae he may never see her again.

When he finally arrived, he looked over and saw, just as the servant had said, Rayna. She looked different, though. She looked calm and at peace, almost relieved. She was feeding the turtle ducks, and even conversing with them as if they were her friends. She then leaned her head back and close her eyes, letting the sun touch her delicate pale skin, and gently smiled. Zuko couldn't help but blush when he looked at her; she was so beautiful, both inside and out.

"Enjoying the sun?" he said as he began to walk towards her.

"Oh! Zuko, hi. I didn't see you there," she responded, "Here to enjoy the sun yourself?"

He chuckled, "I'm more here for you, but the sun is a nice benefit,"

"Well, good to know I'm more important than the sun," she said teasingly. She then patted the grass next to her, "Come on, sit down, help me feed these turtle ducks. I know you love to," she smiled.

"What do you mean?"

"On our first date, you said that you liked feeding turtle ducks, remember?"

Zuko blushed, "You remember that?"

"Of course. It's the first thing I thought about when I heard about the pond," she smiled, "Are you surprised?"

"A little, I guess. I'm more happy than surprised, though,"

"But I thought you were never happy," she said in a low voice with a large, exaggerated frown on her face, imitating Zuko.

"Ha ha, very funny," he responded.

Rayna giggled to herself, "Oh don't be so sensitive. You're the one who said it, not me,"

"Doesn't mean that I meant it!"

"Uh, yeah, it kind of does," she stuck her tongue out at him.

"No, it doesn't! I'm happy when I'm with you, aren't I?" he responded. Upon realizing what he said, both he and Rayna blushed and then nervously looked away from each other.

"I guess…it's been a while since we were alone with each other, huh?" Rayna said nervously.

"Yeah…well that's why I came here, so we could…be alone…," Zuko responded nervously.

Rayna immediately blushed, "Oh…uh…well…here we are then…,"

Dead silence. Even though Zuko wanted to be alone with her, he'd completely forgotten what he wanted to say or do. Well, obviously, he hadn't forgotten that he wanted to be affectionate with her, but he was too nervous to approach her. At the same time, Rayna hadn't really considered that it'd been so long since they were alone together. Now that she was thinking about it, she felt her heart race a million miles per hour.

"Ba Sing Sae is weird, huh?" Zuko said awkwardly.

Rayna raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"No, ugh, I meant that it'll be weird going back to Ba Sing Sae. You know…because we kind of dated there…," Zuko responded nervously.

"Oh, yeah. I guess I hadn't thought about that," Rayna sighed, "Things were so different back then. We were…different back then," she mumbled.

Zuko paused. "Do you remember that night when you and I got into an argument? It wasn't too long after I'd joined the group. You'd been avoiding me, and I got frustrated and forced you to talk with me. I think you slapped me,"

"Oh, yeah…that night," she responded awkwardly, "What about it?"

He sighed, "You…you said that Ba Sing Sae was a mistake. I think you said that we truly didn't love each other, or it wasn't a serious relationship, something like that. And then, when we made up, you told me that we should forget about Ba Sing Sae," he paused, "Do you…still think that?"

"I…," she sighed, "It's complicated, Zuko,"

"How so?"

"I've…disassociated myself from what happened in Ba Sing Sae. I don't know how to explain it. The memories were a source of pain, regret, and hatred for so long. The only way I could feel better was if I distanced myself from it…distance myself from you. I know things are different now, but I still stand by what I said to. I don't think it was a mistake, but I do think it was an ingenuine romance…an unfortunate one, in a sense. We lied about who we were. Looking back, I…well I wasn't in love with you. I liked you, but I didn't love you. Maybe it's because I knew I was lying to you, and by doing that I was also lying to myself," she paused, "Like I said, it's complicated," she paused again, "Are you mad?"

"…No, I'm not mad. I guess I can understand what you're saying, and it does make sense. It's just…well now that I think about it…I wasn't in love with you, instead I was in love with who I thought you were,"

"And who did you think I was?"

"I thought you were a strong person,"

"What do you mean?"

"I thought nothing could break you down. I thought you could handle any and every obstacle in your way. I guess…I thought you were always happy and that you had no worries. You were just so positive about everything and seemed to be in control of all your emotions. With everything that had happened to me, I was just angry and miserable all the time…I guess I couldn't conceptualize the idea that you had problems in your life," he sighed, "I don't know if that makes sense…probably doesn't. I'm just rambling at this point. I guess the author is improvising because even they don't know how to describe it,"

"Yeah, they do that sometimes," she paused, "Who do you think I am now?"

"You're not perfect; you're a person with real emotions, but that doesn't mean you're not strong. I used to place you on a pedestal and think you were some untouchable goddess. What I thought was strength was just a mask you wore to hide who you were and, more importantly, your emotions," he slightly smiled, "It's odd, but you've changed so much since Ba Sing Sae. Not in a bad way, in fact you're much better than you were before. I don't mean that insultingly though," he tried to explain.

Rayna slightly chuckled, "It's okay, I know what you're trying to say," she turned to him with a sweet smile, "Thank you, Zuko. You've also changed a lot since Ba Sing Sae; definitely for the better. And I…," she paused, and turned her head away, "…love you…," she mumbled, hoping Zuko wouldn't hear her.

Zuko slightly chuckled to himself, "I'm sorry, could you repeat that again? I think I heard you say you love me,"

Rayna's eyes grew wide and her whole face was red, "Well you heard wrong. I hate you," she said defensively. Zuko laughed in response. "D-don't laugh! I'm serious! I hate you!" she said, but Zuko kept laughing. "S-s-stop it!" she said angrily and raised her hand to punch him in the arm.

Before she could punch him though, he grabbed her hand and pulled her into an embrace. "I love you too," he whispered to her. Even though she wanted to protest out of embarrassment, she just sighed and rested her head on him.

Zuko gently grab Rayna's chin and pulled her face up towards his. She was blushing, and kept trying to avert her gaze from his out of embarrassment. He smiled and lightly stroked her cheek, "You're so cute when you're embarrassed," he said sweetly. This, of course, only made her blush more.

Zuko moved his hand away from her soft cheek, and then gently moved his finger across her lower lip. He wanted nothing more than to kiss her. The desire overwhelmed him, yet he was hesitant. In the past, he was always the one initiating the kiss. Part of him wished that she would initiate it, or at least that she'd give him a signal that it was okay for him to kiss her. He didn't want to force himself on her. He wanted to make sure that she wanted it.

Suddenly, Rayna grab Zuko's face and pushed her lips onto his. Her eyes were squeezed tight while his were wide open. He was happy, but he was mostly surprised. The kiss didn't last very long, and soon enough she pulled her lips away and let go of his face. She was so embarrassed that she looked angry, and she turned her face away. He was still in a state of shock, and trying to mentally process what had happened.

"Did…did you just…," Zuko started to say.

"You…you were taking too long!" Rayna responded, "Argh! Just forget—,"

In one swift, sudden movement, Zuko grabbed Rayna and pulled her into a passionate kiss. The feeling of her soft, gentle lips, and the nostalgic warmth that flowed through his body as he kissed her, made his mind go blank. There was nothing in his world but kissing her. He couldn't stop, and the kisses only got deeper. It soon was hard to breathe, but the feeling of her hot breaths only fueled his passion for her. All he could think about was her and how much he loved her.

"I missed you so much," he softly whispered into her mouth before once again planting his lips onto hers.

Rayna too felt herself get lost in Zuko's kisses. The sensation was strange and new. It's not as if she hadn't enjoyed kissing him in the past, but it felt different. It was more than missing his kisses, it felt as if she couldn't get enough and needed more. It scared her, yet she felt herself relax against him.

After what felt like an eternity, they stopped kissing. Both their faces were red. Instead of turning away like she usually did, Rayna leaned into Zuko's chest and snuggled into him. In response, Zuko warped his arms around her and gently kissed her forehead before leaning his head against hers. A peaceful silence surrounded them as they rested against each other.

"Hey, Ray?" Zuko asked.

"Hm?" Rayna responded.

"When we go to Ba Sing Sae, let's go on a date," he said.

She paused, "I don't know if we'll have time…,"

"Then we'll make time," he responded, "Please," he whispered.

"…okay," she responded softly.

"Promise?" he asked.

"…I promise," she said.