Sew this up with threads of reason and regret
So I will not forget, I will not forget
How this felt one year, six months ago
I know I cannot forget, I cannot forget.

She was not weak.

See? Look at that. She dances, she laughs, she flirts, and she is the life of the ball, celebrating her friends' engagement. Sure, it is strange that she herself barely speaks to her friend, but the Fire Lord must certainly be busy with his many guests, and she would never try to push herself upon him. Show him that she needs him. That would be a weakness.

At dinner, she makes a toast, to the Fire Lord and future Lady, that they may be forever happy. No one notices that she never truly meets his gaze, while he seems desperate to meet hers. And no one but a certain Earthbender notices as she sits down that she takes a shuddering breath, and wavers on the edge of collapse---but there, she is back again. Laughing, smiling; anything less would be a weakness.

As the guests dance the night away, she retreats to the balcony, inhaling the night air, soaking in the moonlight on her skin as a Firebender might the sun. Her comfort, her solace---until he appears behind her with the stealth he never lost from his days of thievery. "Please, Katara. Say something; anything." His voice quivers, and she hears him plead with her.

Her resolve wavers, and he feels it. "Even though you never told me you loved me, I know you do. I can feel it. Just say it, prove it, and I will break off the engagement. Please, Katara. I need you."

But he doesn't, and she knows it. She shuts down her emotions, any feelings she might have, for they are a weakness in her logic that she cannot afford. He remembers the insanity, the passion, the steam from a year and a half ago, but she knows none of that matters now because what he needs is his country and his people to trust and love him, and for that he needs Mai. She can even see a few years from now, when he has forgotten her, the love that they will share. No. He does not need her, and if she does not say it, he will hate her in time. She turns to him. "Go back to the ball, Zuko. Forget everything we ever had." And with that, she moves past him and disappears into the crowd.

And she is running, and running, and tripping, and standing and running faster than she ever thought possible---is she flying? Maybe. And she is in her rooms and the door is shut and locked, and then she leans against her door and sinks to the floor. You don't need me, but oh, Spirits, do I need you. And tears slide down her cheeks, silent, slow, because to cry is human, but to let him see her humanity---that is a weakness.