Avatar: The Fifth Element

7. Half-Apologies

Rumi sat curled up on her bed, nose placed on her knees, when she heard a heavy knock on the door.

"Who's there?" she snapped.

"It's me! Zuko," a nervous sounding voice answered.

There was a small clatter and Zuko saw a dim light appear from inside. When she opened the door, Rumi wore a big blanket wrapped around her, and her long black hair was messier than usual.

"D—did I wake you up?" Zuko asked, concerned.

"Well I would've had to have been asleep, lucky for you I failed at that."

Zuko tightly smiled and looked off to the side.

"Want me to let you in?" Rumi raised a curious eyebrow, and Zuko nodded slowly.

It was small inside, with a small bed, a fireplace where a fire was lit, and a table with three chairs. It was a comfy feeling place though, as the blanket on her bed was thick and pillows were thrown about. There was also a warm, red carpet covering most of the floor.

"So, you're obviously here for a reason. Spit it out," Rumi said, plopping onto her bed.

Zuko looked at her anxiously. Rolling her eyes, Rumi patted the spot beside her, where Zuko sat awkwardly.

"I, um, I think I should apologize for earlier," he began, but Rumi quickly cut it.

"You think? Buddy, you tried to blast me with your fire! And then you were just distant and rude," she went on.

Admittedly, Zuko was a little put off. He knew this would be difficult, but this was unexpected.

"You said some rude things too!" he spat back as he turned away from her. When he spoke again, his voice was quieter, but still angry, "It was hurtful, what you said."

Rumi sighed, remembering how she agreed with him when Zuko said he shouldn't have food, how she told him he's not what she expected the Fire Lord to be, and that snide remark about him staring at her.

He's so much more sensitive than he lets on, Rumi thought. She placed a hand delicately on his knee, "Zuko, look at me. Please?"

When he turned back around, his face was still pointed at the ground, so Rumi brought her hand to his chin and lifted his head up, looking directly into his eyes. The scar didn't phase her one bit.

"I'm sorry," she said earnestly, her hand now cupping his cheek, but as she moved her thumb ever so slightly, Rumi unknowingly grazed Zuko's scar and he quickly swatted her hand away.

"That's how you respond to an apology? I thought you were here to apologize to me!" Rumi exclaimed angrily, tightening the blanket around her.

By now, Zuko was standing beside the bed, refusing to look at Rumi.

"You know what? Just leave," Rumi's tone darkened and she tilted her head down.

"I didn't mean to—"

"Yeah, it was just a reflex, right? Just like last time? Look, I gotta go to work soon, so please just leave," Rumi got up and gave Zuko a shove towards the door.

He walked out and down the ladder all with his head hung, and as Zuko got the the ground, he thought he caught a glimpse of a strong looking waterbender watching him.

***

"How did the apology go, Zuko?" Katara asked.

The group was now sitting around a table at a local tea shop. The place was dimly lit and warm.

"Uh, it went, um, not very good," Zuko said, staring down at his tea.

"What happened?" she asked, and the whole group turned to look at Zuko, waiting for him to explain.

"I don't want to talk about it..." he trailed off, pretending to be mesmerized by the cup that held the warm drink.

Aang shook his head as everyone gave each other knowing looks, and then a surprised expression grew on Sokka's face, "Look," he pointed to the door, where Rumi just walked in.

Everyone stared as Rumi went to a back room and came back wearing an apron. As she went about her duties serving and making tea, she made eye contact with Zuko, which lasted a little too long.

"Hey, sweetheart! You gonna serve me?" an earthbender shouted, who was seated with a group of his friends. The whole group of guys were looking Rumi up and down, smirking in approval.

As Zuko watched, he felt an urge to do something, but refrained.

"Call me sweetheart one more time and I'll make your tea so hot it burns a hole in your throat," she strode away and went up to one of her coworkers, asking them to serve the boys instead.

"Zuko, are you okay?" Aang asked, concerned, but Zuko stayed silent. He just looked at Rumi as she worked, a sad look in his eyes. When she looked back at him with a more angry expression, he got up and stepped outside.

That's when Katara decided to go up to Rumi, "Hey, what happened between you two? I thought Zuko was apologizing."

"Pff, he did a bad job at it, and when I actually apologized he just pushed me away," Rumi explained.

"You know, Zuko's been through a lot, you have to be gentle with him," Katara urged, speaking in a calming motherly voice, as she usually does when trying not to anger someone.

"Of course you're defending him," Rumi snapped, her entire body tense.

"Look, we're all just trying to help him, and you," Katara gestured to the rest of the group.

"If you wanna help me then leave me alone, this isn't gonna end well for anyone!" Rumi shouted and then stormed off to her boss. "I need to end my shift early, just get Siku to cover for me," she said as she threw off her apron and left the shop.

"Do we talk to her?" Sokka asked, confused.

"I'm definitely not dealing with that," Toph said bluntly.

"Come on guys, she might not be okay, and we need to find Zuko anyways," Aang said as he got up, the others following him outside.

Zuko was found sitting on a log just outside the tea shop, elbows on his knees and head hanging.

Rumi was seen off in the distance, talking with Kaito. They were barely noticeable in the dim lights of the village, but it was definitely them, and she was definitely angry.

"If you're planning on talking to her, don't. I tried, and he came," Zuko nodded towards Kaito.

"Let's just go back to the inn, it's late," Katara said, but as they started to leave, Aang stopped abruptly.

He felt a surge of energy and yelled out a wailing "Stop!" to the group. They halted dead in their tracks just before a trickle of electricity shocked a small area in front of them, and a small black slit opened up out of nothing.