Kimi (ATLA) (Coco; Book 2)

3

Zuko and I have been interviewing possible suspects all day who might know where Patyn is. We're on our way to his mother's house now, and I'm pretty nervous about it. I don't know, Patyn and I were over a long time ago, he was only my boyfriend for a few months, and I'm madly in love with Zuko. She probably doesn't even know about me. I know I need to get over this if I want this investigation to go somewhere, I just don't think visiting his mother is going to do that. I don't even think she even had anything to do with it.

"Hey, baby?" I finally speak up.

I don't know why, but it seems like Zuko is angry with me. His attitude is just off. I don't know what I did wrong, but I'm going to find out.

"Hmm?" He answers me with a grunt.

"Are you ok? You seem upset."

"Not at all."

"Are you sure, because-"

"Let's just focus on the investigation, ok?" He snaps at me.

"Oh yeah, sure. You're right."

I give him a fake smile, but truthfully, that really hurt my feelings. Maybe he does blame me.

...

"Would you two like some tea?" Mrs. Long offers.

"No, thank you," I answer her politely.

Patyn's mother is very kind. It's hard to believe that a sweet old lady like herself birthed a man like Patyn. She lives in a small cottage on the hills of the Fire Nation. Her home is filled with knick knacks and pictures of her children and late husband. She's a tiny lady, even shorter than me. She's so frail, and her gray hair gracefully flows down her back.

"So, your son has written you a few letters since being in prison. Did he say anything out of the ordinary, something you found odd?" I ask her.

"No, just the same thing each time. He was apologetic- He'd apologize for disappointing me, though my children could never disappoint me. He'd talk about his appointments with his psychologist, and he'd complain about the food."

"Can you elaborate on that first statement?" Zuko asks. "About him never disappointing you?"

"It's hard as a mother sometimes. When your kids do something wrong, you ask yourself, 'was it me? Where did I go wrong?' I blame myself often times. I just don't see how my sweet boy turned into such a monster."

This poor woman.

"Hmm, well we're sorry for wasting your time, ma'am. Um, before we go, may I use your bathroom?" Zuko asks politely.

"Right this way."

Mrs. Long shows Zuko to the bathroom, so I decide to look around at some of the photos she has perched on her fireplace and tables. I can tell the small child in the picture with the missing tooth is Patyn, and the older boy is his brother, while the baby is his sister. He looks like his father.

"I know you're married now, but you were the best girlfriend my Patty has ever had."

I look away from the pictures to find Mrs. Long smiling lightly at me.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she backtracks. "I guess this isn't the most approximate time to say that."

"That's ok," I assure her. "I didn't think he talked about me, I thought Patyn had a girlfriend waiting for him here."

"Oh, he talked about you quite often. And the only girl waiting for him here was me," she chuckles. "He wrote me when he first met you, he wrote me about wanting to make you his girlfriend, he wrote me about all of your dates. He told me every detail about you! I don't know if he told you, but he definitely told me he loved you with his everything. The night he burned you, he wrote me a letter. Said he should hate you, but he hated himself more for not accepting you. Said he should have felt betrayed you were an airbender, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't hate you."

Patyn loved me? I doubt it, he hated me. Our relationship was built on lies, and Patyn is incapable of loving... Right?

She then hands me a stack of old letters held together with a piece of old leather. Wow, she really kept all of them. I take one out of the pile and unfold it.

'...Coco, she's an airbender. Damn it, ma, this ruins everything...'

Oh my goodness. This is the night burned me. That same night Zhao killed the moon, almost a decade ago, and she kept them- she kept the letters. I raise my hand to my face and gently place it on the scarred skin on the side of my face. I feel a slight burning sensation linger on my face as it travels to my fingertips. I feel like I'm being transported back to that very moment he burned me.

"Mrs. Long," I start, my voice shaking. "Why are you showing me these?"

"Because, I didn't want to tell you while your husband was in the room, but I don't believe my son is acting out because of his dedication to Ozai. My son is a man who acts on what he's feeling. He could've told everyone that night about you being an airbender. Some would call him stupid, but he's always done stupid things for love."

"Are you saying that Patyn is doing all of this because he... loves me?"

...

What a day. What a long, anxiety filled day. I feel like a big part of this case has been cracked by what Mrs. Long told me. If Patyn is trying to get my attention, then I'm afraid something very bad is going to happen. I need to tell Zuko, but how? He'd never let me near this case if he found out.

I slip out of my clothes and into my night gown. Zuko walks out of our master bathroom in his pajamas and sits on the edge of the bed. I walk up to him and sit in his lap. I wrap my arms lovingly around his neck. Sure our honeymoon was ruined, but it could be worse. At least we have each other, at least we're together and safe.

"Not now, Kimi," He says while fanning me away.

"Zuko, what's wrong with you? You've been rude to me all day. If there's something I did, I'm sorry, but at least tell me what it is."

I get up and walk across the room with my arms crossed, I'm just so frustrated. I hate arguing with him, and I hate that I don't even know why we're arguing. Are we even arguing? He's not yelling, but he's still being a jerk!

"...You're right. I'm sorry, I am. I guess I was just upset."

"About what?" I ask quietly.

"You told Aang before me that you can't get into the spirit world. I felt like you didn't trust me enough to tell me. I'm still new at this, but I'll do better, I promise," He apologizes lowly.

"Oh, Zuko. Don't apologize, I'm sorry. I should have told you, because I do trust you with everything. I didn't tell you because I was freaking out, and I was scared. I didn't want to worry you."

"Come here," he says.

He stretches out his arms and we hug, again, but what's new? It just shows that we're in touch with our feelings, that we love each other and we know how to show it. And that is a really big step for Zuko. Trust me, Zuko couldn't even look me for the longest after we met.

"I love you," he whispers.

"I know there was a time in my life where I couldn't... You know, trust you all that well, but I promise you, I'll never go back to that. I know what kind of person you are, and you are good."

...