He had been reluctant, at first, to let her go without him. She was a capable warrior, he knew. She’d gotten along just fine without him before they’d met, though that didn’t sway his urge to protect her. Finally, he’d managed to convince himself to do just that by giving her the very gift his father had given him- a portion of his Truename. With it, she could call him to her side in a fraction of a second if she needed him.
With that bit of insurance, he could relax enough for her to be able to go on her own. She needed this, he knew she did, though it still pained him to be without her for so long. If he were honest with himself, he needed it, as well. They had begun to lose themselves in one another. Not that to do so was a bad thing in it’s entirety, but it was still a good thing to maintain the ability to be their own people. And so, as she’d left on her journey, he’d left on his own. After a gift from both father and uncle, he’d needed someone to learn swordplay from.
Six months, she’d told him; six months and she’d be returning home to Kyoshi Island. The days seemed to drag by so slowly at some points, speeding by at others. Finally, when the time had passed, he’d left the master he’d found for himself with a promise to return regularly to continue his training and returned to the island, himself.
He arrived back before she did, settling himself onto her bed and curling up to wait for her return. He could not wait to see her, again.
She never knew just how much Al had cared about her, how much he trusted her, until he shared something so important with her before she left. She knew that he was something that she had never come across before in all of her journeys, and knew that she would never see ever again. She knew that what he gave her was such a big part of him, one of the core parts of him that not just anyone would ever know about. Not only did it give her a chance to have him by her side at a moment’s notice - which would come in very handy in a sticky situation - but also allowed her to see him at any time.
She tried her hardest to make sure not to use it for silly reasons, when she was craving him during those lonely nights, seeking comfort in his arms one more time. She had no idea how many times she was tempted to call him, use that part of his Truename to bring him to her side. But she didn’t, and she was proud of herself that she didn’t give in to that temptation. It only made their reunion that much sweeter in her eyes, and hopefully in his too.
The longer they had been apart from each other, the more she realized that she had a lot to work on for herself. She had put off her Kyoshi warrior training for far too long, and when she went to see Fire Lord Zuko, she had a lot of catching up to do. She was glad that he had confided in her and looked to her for advice. She was more than honored to serve as his counsel on certain decisions, and having all of the Kyoshi Warriors there to protect one of her most trusted friends made her feel better about his well-being. A part of her didn’t want to leave her friend, but she knew that she had promised to be gone for only six months. In that amount of time, so much had happened, things that were such a big deal to Zuko and the rest of her friends, and her six months away was time well spent.
When she arrived on the island, she was greeted by the entire island. It was as if they were having a festival in her honor, although in reality they really weren’t. They were just happy to see her after so long, and she felt the exact same way. She said her hello’s to everyone and made her way to the compound, where she just had a feeling that Al would be waiting for her. She opened up the door to their room, and saw him.
He stirred as he heard footsteps hurrying through the building, eyes slowly sliding open. He yawned, tongue flicking out to taste the air. When he caught her scent- not just the latent scent in her room, but fresh scent, his eyes went wider and he sat up just as she opened the door.
He smiled broadly, dimples creasing his cheeks, and he held out his arms to her after scooting to the edge of the bed.
“Ma Cherie. Welcome home.”
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