Beauty in the Beast (Zutara)

Chapter Twenty-Six

Kanna came downstairs seeing her son staring at the front door, his fist clenched and a phone in hand.

"Hakoda, dear?" It was hard for Hakoda to speak as he swallowed hard, letting a tear roll down his cheek.

"I let her go, mother." He struggled out. "I did as you told me." She let out a small sigh as she hugged her son from behind.

"You did the right thing, Hakoda. You know that right?" The man shook as he brought a hand to his face letting out a soft sob.

"Then why do I feel like I failed?" She chuckled softly and pat his back lovingly.

"Because you're a father." She answered sweetly. "And you know your little girl. You know she has Kya's stubbornness in her. Even if you told her otherwise, she probably wouldn't've listened." A broken laugh came from him. "But it's mostly because you're worried about her. I am too. But...I have a good feeling."

"Mom, you can't just trust your feelings all the time." He said.

"And why not?" She countered. "I had a good feeling about Kya. The moment I met her. And look what happened. She brought you nothing but happiness." He slumped as her mother moved to guide him to the couch petting his head much like she did when he was a small boy looking for comfort. He leaned into her touch leaning his head on her shoulder limply as he truly assessed what he did.

"Thank you for trusting me, she said." Kanna laughed at the statement.

"And yet you called in a favor didn't you?"

"I trust her, but that's also my little girl!" He exclaimed. Kanna just continued to laugh softly.

"I'm sure she'll understand if they catch one of your friends." He hummed softly crossing his arms at the thought.

"She better." A calm silence loomed over them as she continued to soothe her son. His heart sank as he watched her walk out that door to meet him, scenarios rushing through his head, most of them feeding into his fears.

"She will be okay, Hakoda." She said softly. "Everything will be okay."

"You have no idea how much I want you to be right, Mom."

~~

Zuko leaned his head back on the wall looking up at the slowly darkening sky with a small smile on his face as he took a deep breath, watching the heat of his breath leave him into the night, picked up by the chilling breeze that pierced down into his bones. He held himself inside his jacket more, clinging to warmth. She's probably going to be bundled up too. He chuckled at the thought of her in layers of warmer wear and the cute smile that would come from all the layers surprised that the very thought made his heart skip a beat. Is this too fast? Too much? His smile dropped as he questioned himself and their motives. What if it isn't going to work like Mai said? He pondered, letting out a long deep breath, watching the steam from his breath float away aimlessly. What if it will be all for nothing?

~~

Zuko sighed as he looked over at the girl, her eyes narrowing into him without a shred of clemency.

"Did you think about that, Zuko?" She asked, a hint of worry in her stern voice. "What if this doesn't work out with that girl? You would've put yourself in danger for nothing. You know what your dad is capable of and yet you chose the hardest option for yourself." Zuko bit the inside of his cheek as he kept his silence, knowing that she was right about what he was doing being a huge risk to him and her.
"Are you determined to just have matching scars?" Zuko growled out a sigh.

"No."

"Then act like you have some self-preservation, Zuko!" She spat back at him. "I mean how do you even know she even genuinely likes you!?" His head shot up, his own bright eyes glaring into her steely ones.