The Bridegroom [Iroh II]

☼Fifteen☼

Soft sunlight streamed through the window, allowing the air around Iroh's bed to warm up. In her half-asleep state, Sarrin could still feel Iroh's lips on hers. They hadn't done anything else that night; they just talked and kissed until she passed out in his strong arms. There was happiness spreading through her body that she hadn't ever felt before. No one had ever made her this happy before. Not after her parents died, at least.

She rolled over in his bed and let out a soft sigh. Her eyes still hadn't opened yet because she was so content right now. However, she did open her eyes when she didn't feel Iroh next to her. With a frown, she sat up and glanced around. He was nowhere in sight. 

"Iroh?" she called out, thinking he was either in the bathroom or the kitchen. "What are you doing?"

Sarrin slid out from under his covers and shivered. The shadows on the floor were frigid under her bare feet. She ignored the freezing floor as she stepped out into the hallway. With a quick peek into the kitchen, her frown deepened. He wasn't in there, either. He had to be in the bathroom, so she knocked on the door.

"Iroh?"

When she knocked again, the door slowly swung open, revealing an empty bathroom. And just like that, she realized that Iroh wasn't there. He had left without even waking her up. But it was the weekend. Why would he leave if he didn't have to work today? Why would he leave after last night, either? Was she that bad of a kisser? Did he hate her now?

Sarrin didn't care that she was in her pajamas. She ran outside without any shoes on and spun around in a quick circle. No one was outside yet because it was still very early in the morning. 

"Sarrin?"

She turned around with a large smile on her face. However, it dropped when she noticed it was Reng who had spoken to her, not Iroh. He stood outside his restaurant, wrapped up in a robe. He must've been watching the sun rise or something, but Sarrin didn't care.

"Where's Iroh?" she asked him.

Reng frowned and flicked his eyes toward their apartment. "You better go to the docks," Reng said with a quick nod. "And quickly, too."

"What? Why?"

Sarrin didn't even wait for an answer. She knew Reng wasn't going to tell her after his little incident the other day, so she took off running toward the docks. She hadn't ever been there before, so she wasn't sure she was going in the right direction until she saw large ships rising in the distance. Something wasn't right because smoke curled toward the sky. Why did they look like they were about to leave?

Her feet faltered when she saw the crowd standing in front of the largest ship. Tearful women and proud men were watching the ship. Small figures stood on the ship, waving to the crowd.

"I don't want him to leave," a woman wailed to another lady. She fell against that other woman in despair. Sarrin noticed that her stomach was big and round. "I can't have our child alone!"

Sarrin clenched her jaw. Was Iroh leaving? And he didn't even tell her? It seemed like he loved to keep secrets from her.

She shoved through the crowd and finally made it out on the other side. Most of the people on the ship looked young, younger than most of the officers that stood off to the side. There was one figure that had a dark look on his face as he scanned the crowd. His eyes widened when he saw Sarrin.

"Iroh!" she shouted over the noisy chatters from the crowd. "Why didn't you tell me?"

He opened his mouth to say something but quickly shook his head. With a flying leap, Iroh suddenly jumped over the railing. Fear gripped Sarrin's heart until he used firebending to propel himself toward her. The crowd seemed to grow silent as he landed in front of her.