She knew when she looked at him that his eyes did not hold same light as they did when she first met him in that coffee shop a year ago. She knew that he was beginning to fade away from her bit by bit. It almost seemed as if he was forcing himself to be around her, as if he was performing a job he did not want to do… That he had no desire to do.

“ I… I’m sorry…” Jin said, softly, as she stood at the sink of her kitchenette. Being an upperclassman at the college practically forced her into a small apartment rather than the dorms on campus. Zuko looked up from his seated position at the counter.

“ What for?”

“ … I can’t do this anymore.” Shutting off the faucet she wiped her hands on the kitchen rag and turned to face her boyfriend of nearly two years. “ Tell me who she is…”

Zuko closed his eyes and sighed. Why was he such a coward for these situations? Why couldn’t he have told her in the beginning, before things got out of control? Before he actually became involved with Katara? He was hurting them both. There was no reason to have Jin suffer for his own selfish needs and desires.

“ … She’s my childhood friend.” He said, softly. “ I saw her again in Spanish and we’ve been hanging out, catching up on lost time.” He took a sip from the, now, lukewarm Earl Grey tea he was holding in his hands. “ That’s all it is… just hanging out…”

“ … Is that all…?”

He hated to lie himself out of the situation. He hated to lie to her, to tell her that he wasn’t going out with Katara. That he wasn’t sleeping with her. That he wasn’t showering her with kisses and gifts. He wanted to tell her that he was sleeping with her, that he was going out with her, and that he was giving her gifts.

“ Yes…”

“ Then why does it seem you’re lying to me?” Zuko looked up at Jin and tried to avoid to look in the pain in her eyes, but he had to look. He had to see the damage he was doing.

“ … Because…” He paused. “ Why would I ever have the reason to lie?”

Jin smiled, albeit it was small, and Zuko mentally sighed.

He hated to lie. Maybe one day… he would tell her the truth. Maybe. When he had the will and strength to do so.