Katara blinked rapidly and gazed around the lakefront where she stood. All around the understated beach were lush trees and dense undergrowth. It was misty and had the shiny overtones of a dream. But something was off, she could feel it. She had dreams often enough, it was normal for her but this one felt different. It was sharper, and something within her own self felt different as well. Experimentally she reached out to the water in front of her and tried to bend it. Nothing too complicated, only a light water whip, but the water didn't answer her call. Her bending was gone. She was in the spirit world. That made no sense. She'd never gone here before and the only person she knew who could transcend the barrier between worlds was Aang, whom she hadn't seen in nearly a year. He was the only cause she could think of for her to be in the spirit world at all. Cautiously she called out.

"Aang?"

Her voice rang out startlingly loud across the water and echoed back at her emptily. A flurry of goose bumps erupted on her arms at the absolute stillness. She wanted out of here, and she wanted out now.

"Why are you doing this to me?"

Katara gasped and whipped around, searching for the source of the woman's voice that had come from nowhere. Her heart sprang to life under her breastbone, fluttering like a panicked bird. There was no one, anywhere in sight.

"You are cruel beyond measure. I can only hope that you will see it returned onto you one day. Take good care of them. Him especially." The woman's voice cracked a bit at that.

"Hello?" Katara called. She was fighting the very frustrating sensation of being afraid and confused all at once and tried again to locate the source of the voice, this time peering out over the lake. In the distance she could see the outline of a woman in a red robe. Very vague and almost gauzy looking.

For the first time, the woman was answered, by a deep, slightly raspy bass.

"They will be cared for."

The woman answered him calmly. "You were always the perfect liar..."

The red silhouette faded out in a rolling could of gray mist and Katara fought back a scream as she hurtled downward into velveteen blackness.

….

Katara gasped audibly and immediately rolled onto her side, curling into herself and breathing rapidly. Her hands grasped her sheets, clean sheets made of light cotton, the same sheets she slept under the night before, and most definitely not spirit world sheets. She let go of them with shaking hands and sat up, fighting to calm her racing heart.

"What in the name of all spirits was that?" She wondered aloud. Shaking her head she swung her legs out of bed and made her way, rather shakily, down the hall to the modest bathhouse that was attached to the small bungalow where she was staying. She quickly dispatched the simple wrappings that she slept in and slid into the heated water, letting the treated bathwater wash up over her head, rinsing her off completely.

Her dream made no sense at all. She had never been to the spirit world, and had never even thought of going there, and the only person she could think of who would make her being in the spirit world rational was Aang, and he was off traveling. He hadn't been in her dream at all. Katara frowned at the water and began to wash up, first her body then her hair. It took her a while to lather her waist-length hair completely but she made sure it was thoroughly washed before rinsing off and getting out. Just as she bent the last of the water from her hair and skin and began to don her wrappings she heard the door bang open at the far end of the house.

"Sweetness! Rise and shine!"

Toph entered the bathhouse without knocking just as Katara tightened the final strap on her wrappings. She paused briefly and cocked her head, letting her long onyx braid to fall over one shoulder. "You feel kind of shaky Katara. Bad dreams?"

Katara moved past Toph and into her bedroom, dressing in close fitting black pants and a blue and white tunic that settled close to her hips as she recounted her dream exactly. "I don't understand it at all", she said gathering her hair into a low pony tail. "I've never been to the spirit world before, and I don't see why I would be going there now. Toph studied her nails as she leaned against the doorframe. Katara pulled on her sandals and studied the earthbender absently. Three years had passed since the end of the war, and Toph had changed quite a bit. She shot up in height, and now at fifteen she was only a little shorter than Katara. She'd filled out a lot too, growing into a figure that drew more than just a little attention these days, and to complete the picture she'd brought her hair down and begun to leave it in a long braid, one that nearly reached her hips.

It saddened Katara that she'd been the one to watch Toph grow into a young woman while her family still wouldn't speak to her. The war may have been over but some things never changed...

"I think you need to talk to Aang about this Katara."

She flinched. "I don't see why we have to bring him into this, I mean it only happened this once, and nothing bad happened."

"However you feel about Twinkle Toes is none of my business, but randomly travelling into the spirit world isn't normal. You need to tell someone who knows about the spirit world, and the only person in the world who has that sort of knowledge is Aang."

"I appreciate the concern Toph but I'm sure it's nothing." She made to move past the door but Toph stopped her dead, planting one hand firmly on her shoulder, in a grip like iron.

"Don't risk yourself just because you had a nasty breakup. He's still your friend. If you won't write him I will."

Katara's stomach clenched at that.

"Fine." She conceded. "I'll send him a messenger Hawk after we work on the Canals."

Toph smiled. "Good. Now move it, we haven't got all day!"

…

The modest Earth Kingdom village had barely begun to stir as Toph and Katara made their way towards the south end of town, towards the river. Not long after Aang left, Katara had accepted an invitation from Toph to come help her build canals for trade and irrigation throughout the Earth Kingdom. They needed powerful benders to complete all the canals before harvesting season. Katara volunteered, to get away from the ice and snow for a while, which, she had found in her travels, wore her down quite a bit after a few months. Escaping her father's concerned stares and the memories of Aang that littered the place like freshly fallen snow didn't hurt either. It was a welcome change. She loved the warmth of the Earth Kingdom summer, and she enjoyed the work she was doing with the canals. She was doing what she loved: Helping people, and bending. And the simplicity of the life she had here was a soothing balm after the turbulent years the war had left.

The overseers looked up from their tables and plans as the two young women approached. The Head overseer, Leng smiled and came over to Katara, who bowed slightly. She may have been a water bending master, but Leng was a master in his own right, and she paid due respect. Gran Gran had taught her manners if nothing else. As if to prove Gran Gran had made no impact at all on her, Toph responded to Leng's approach by spitting off to the side and offering her hand brusquely.

Katara didn't know whether to laugh or cringe.

Leng merely smiled and took her hand, not even flinching at her, no doubt, crushing handshake. "Good morning to you Masters Katara and Toph, I trust you slept well?"

He focused completely on her, which she supposed made sense to him, because Toph was blind, but to her it seemed more than a little rude. She was so used to treating Toph as if she could see (which she could in her own way), that when other people treated her differently it seemed kind of offensive. Nonetheless she gave Leng a smile for his efforts. "Very well thank you. Now where are we starting today?"

Leng flinched, ever so slightly at her change of subject but changed pace without a missed beat.

"I've marked where we'll be starting just over here. You can push back the water whenever you're ready and my earthbenders will send tremors along the lines where Master Toph needs to make the channel."

Katara nodded and he went back to his worktable to briefly confer with his benders. Beside her, Toph snickered and nudged Katara with her elbow. "Leng has a serious thing for you Katara."

She blinked, taken aback. "Huh?"

Toph nodded a wicked, all too familiar, grin on her face. "His heart jumps like a kangaroo-rabbit whenever he sees you. He definitely wants a piece of the waterbending action."

Katara wrinkled her nose and looked back at Leng who was now pointing to a place on one of his many diagrams. He wasn't bad looking, she supposed, but nothing at all about him stood out at all. He was blandly handsome, with brown hair, off in a topknot, light brown eyes and a fine facial structure. Not exactly hideous, but Katara found him to be utterly unappealing. Toph snickered once again. "Poor Leng. He wouldn't stand a chance against all the other men you have to choose from. Haru, the social revolutionist, (and mustache revolutionist), The Avatar, The Fire Lord"-

Katara flushed and smacked Toph on the side of her head. "Can it motor mouth, here they come."

They followed Leng's earthbenders to the aforementioned spot on the side of the river. Katara waded out to her hips, anchoring herself firmly against the swift current before centering her chi and going to work. In one grand motion she swept her arms upward, then out to the side, parting the water like a comb through a head of hair, then, reaching deep she centered herself, and gripped hard on the currents of the mighty river and staying them, while she waited for Toph to make the first furrows of the canal. Her arms didn't move an inch as sweat beaded on her hairline, but finally she felt a nudge beneath her feet, signaling her release the water a bit and move backward. Carefully, she let the waters at the far bank continue to flow but held on to the part she kept on the other half of the river. Then she moved back into the perfectly cut furrow of the new canal. They continued on like this for a while until Katara's arms shook and sweat poured down her back. Toph finally gave her the signal to get out of the canal for a break. Relieved, Katara released the water and let it rush over her, letting it wash away all the sweat and grime on her skin before lifting herself out of the river on a wave and bending herself dry.

"It must be nice to have a makeshift bath whenever you want." Toph grumbled. The girl was breathing heavily and she looked as sweaty as Katara had previously been. The waters beneath them lapped happily against the makeshift dam Toph made to stem the flow for a break. Katara shrugged. "I could give you a bath right now if you want, one of the many perks of having a waterbending best friend." She grinned and wriggled her fingers at Toph who made a face of disgust.

"I don't trust you to brush my hair, why would I let you waterbend me clean?"

She grinned. "Who said anything about let?" Just as she raised her hands however, Toph started and turned her head towards town, not at all concerned with Katara's threat.

"What is it?"

"I don't think you'll have to write Aang after all."

Katara turned and felt her stomach twist as a figure she'd know anywhere made its way toward them. Aang. Her heart sank, twisted, and then went completely numb.

…

Everyone assumed it would be her who broke Aang's heart. She felt it in their stares, their whispers, there smirks. It was no one person in particular, it was everyone. Everywhere they went. No one expected faithfulness out of a water tribe girl, not to mention a water tribe girl that looked like that. Katara resented it as she and Aang travelled the world, patching up what Ozai left behind ever so slowly. She grew desperate after an incident with some teenage girls in a small Earth village who'd called her horrible names, so she went to Aang and told him what she'd been dealing with. He brushed it off with a smile and a shrug and told her she was imagining things.

"Oh so I imagined that girl calling me a piss-bending slut?" she recalled screaming at him.

He had frowned slightly and looked at the ground. "It was only one girl Katara. I think you're overreacting."

That was the night she'd stopped speaking to him. They went for weeks like that; Aang chattering blindly at her, assuming she'd let up, but it wasn't his mindless chatter she wanted. She wanted an apology, she wanted him to stand up to these people and defend her. It wasn't like she couldn't take care of herself, but a relationship didn't depend on just one person. Aang seemed to overlook that.

One night, at the Fire Nation Capitol she'd had enough, and decided she wanted to talk to him, to work out whatever dark thing had sprung up between them.

He'd wandered off somewhere in the district where they were staying. Zuko had offered them a room at the palace but for some odd reason Aang had said no.

Katara remembered Zuko pulling her aside as Aang chatted up one of his ministers.

"Is he alright? Is he upset with me at all?" he inquired in a low tone, leaning close over her so they wouldn't be overheard. Katara looked on at Aang, considering Zuko's question.

"I'm not sure, but it's nothing you did or said. If anything it's my fault…"

Zuko leaned back and cocked an eyebrow, bringing a flush of cool air against Katara's warm cheeks. Firebenders always gave off an extraordinarily high body temperature.

"Trouble in paradise?" He inquired just as quietly as before.

Katara blushed in earnest. "No…I don't know…If someone insulted Mae, you'd stand up for her wouldn't you? Not to say that Mae couldn't defend herself, but if you care for someone you'd defend them right?"

She lifted her eyes to meet his and he looked back thoughtfully. "Absolutely. I mean, if you'd give your life for someone, it would be natural to at least give them a few words in their defense."

To her surprise he sounded a bit angry. His eyes slanted down into a frown and he was no longer looking at her. Katara followed his gaze and saw Mae standing across the courtyard from them. Katara raised her hand to wave but the other woman simply walked away.

Trouble in paradise? She thought. What's up with them?

"Thanks Zuko." She said, breaking him out of his reverie. "I guess I'll try talking to him again and work this out."

He nodded. "Come to me if you guys need anything."

That night she wandered the streets of the middle district, searching all over for Aang. Where had he gone? He simply disappeared after dinner, while she'd meditated. She was used to his wanderings but he wasn't apt to disappear like this.

"Aang..."

Katara jumped at the small, feminine voice saying her lover's name from somewhere off to her right. A rock seemed to settle deep in her gut. She took a step towards the alleyway where she heard the vice coming from but, a soft sigh that emanated from it made her falter.

It can't be. He would never-…would he?

Feeling as if she were about to vomit, the waterbender softly stepped up to the corner of the alleyway and peered around it. What she saw made her go numb from the crown of her head down to the tips of her toes.

Aang, and the adorable girl from the tea shop she and Aang had stopped at on their first day here, pressed against the wall. He held her flush against him, his face buried in her neck, ands gripping the backs of her thighs. The girl's eyes were closed, her mouth parted ever so slightly. What was her name? Ling? Lee? She didn't stick around to find out from his unknowing mouth. Katara ran.

She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, which was surprisingly far after all these years of training. She ended up on the other side of the city, at the palace gates. The guards let her bolt past them without a word, knowing her for who she was. Panting and sweating and shaking, Katara collapsed to her knees on the Palace steps. She wasn't sure how long she sat there, but some time later, footsteps approached her softly, and the Fire Lord sat down beside her. He was dressed simply in loose black pants and a sashed red vest. Just like when they travelled together that fateful summer. His hair was down. It should've been a comfort to see him like this but it wasn't. The numbness stayed.

"Katara?"

She didn't flinch away as his hands brushed away the tears that had been running down her cheeks. How long had she been crying? Humiliated she bent the tears away with a flick of her fingers and drew her knees up to her chest, hugging them tightly.

"Katara what's wrong? Where's Aang? Is he hurt?"

A poisonous feeling spiked up in her heart. "I'm sure fucking that tea serving bitch can't hurt that badly." She spat, surprising herself with the vehemence of her words. She rarely, if ever swore. Apparently Zuko was taken aback too. His hand dropped and his eyes flickered darkly.

"I…I would never expect that of him." He said cautiously.

She said nothing and they just sat in each other's company for a while, Katara staring silently at the steps below her, and Zuko staring at her. After a bit, she spoke again, this time more gently.

"I can't believe he would cheat on me, but you know what makes it worse?"

Zuko shook his head, gold eyes intent on her own. She blushed and looked away, not able to look him in the eye as she told him.

"After almost a year together and him pining after me like he did…Aang would never touch me like I saw him touching her. He never kissed me like that, we never even-"She stopped and felt a blush spread hotly up to her ears, and felt embarrassed tears prick at her eyes again.

"What's wrong with me?" She whispered.

She blinked in surprise as his hand; almost scorching against her freezing one interlaced itself with her fingers, while he again brushed away tears from her face.

"Nothing Katara. I can't imagine for a second why he would do this to you. I'm so sorry."

His voice was quiet, husky as always, and honest. She believed him. The numbness receded.

The next morning she left on a ferry to the Earth Kingdom, leaving Zuko a brief letter to give to Aang, and a promise that she would write him once she reached Toph. She hadn't spoken to Aang since.

…

First Zutara fic! R&R if you please, and things heat up next chapter so stick around!