My first ATLA story :D big fan of Zutara, unlike my little sister who is a Maiko fan. Just hope this is as good as I think it is…..my little sister Meandcartoon22 thinks it's a waste of time to be doing this story :p always bothering me about how stupid Zutara is or how Katara's a bitch B| but that will not stop me from doing a story of my fave ATLA couple
Warning to Meandcartoon22: Don't even think of reviewing this story you little freak…don't go on putting how stupid the story is because you hate the couple either. And if you even consider telling me in person how stupid you think it is…..i sock you in the face you little imp.
Hope you guys enjoy)
The day was peaceful and silent as the sun was on the verge of setting; the ocean waves were calm as they lapped over the shore and peeking rocks, high above on the cliff tops...stood in place was a tiny campsite where six teens were getting ready to go to sleep….with the exception of the oldest of them seemed to be having a lot going through his mind at the time being.
With a determined look, Zuko walked toward Sokka's tent looking quite nervous to say the least as he neared the blue tent. It's been past a few days since he and Katara came back from confronting the man who killed her mother...and he was more than glad when she had finally forgiven him….and he was very much aware of the new genuine feelings bubbling up not long after.
Reaching the young warrior's tent, Zuko was about to enter until he suddenly remembered the last time he had entered Sokka's tent without warning; he shuddered at the memory and stepped away from the entrance and looked at it for a moment "Sokka?" he called hoping the guy wasn't busy since he had the serious need to talk to his friend about something seemingly very important
"Yeah Zuko?" came Sokka's reply. Zuko took note that the guy sounded a little bit distracted
Zuko scratched the nape of his neck "I need to talk to you, it's important" he said as he absent mindly fixing the gold sash over his red tunic
"Sure, come in" Sokka said
Zuko took this reply to thought...while he comfirmed it was alright to come in, he didn't want to walk in to something disturbingly embarrassing like last time and he just wanted to be prepared "are you decent?" he asked making a weird look on his face
It took Sokka a while to answer back, all Zuko could hear was something scraping from inside Sokka's tent and he was wondering if the water tribesman was remembering that one embarrassing moment as well "yes Zuko, I'm decent" came a reply from inside the tent, sounding quite exasperate
Sighing in relief, Zuko entered the tent to find Sokka sharpening his oh so precious boomerang, Sokka looked up at him for a moment and turned back to his boomerang "so, what is it that you want to talk about?" he asked eyes glued on his working
Zuko sat down and took a deep breath "it's about Katara" at this Sokka looked up at the ex prince in surprise and disbelief...as if his mind was informing him of the wrong assumption
"She still doesn't trust you? I thought she already forgave you when you two came back after finding that Yon Rha guy who killed our mom" he said shaking his head at the thought of his little sister muttering something like 'stubborn sister seriously holds a grudge' as he pinched the bridge of his nose...an action Zuko never seen Sokka use before
"Its not that, she already forgave me" He said sounding quite content of such. It was until a blush slowly appeared on his pale face as he rubbed the back of his neck obviously uncomfortable with how the conversation was going "more ways than one" he muttered quietly to himself
"Oh" Sokka and relaxed a little knowing things were going well with the young fire bender and his little sister "then what is it?" he asked looking down at his boomerang before sharpening it again
"I want your permission to court your sister" he said and Sokka suddenly stopped on mid stroke when the words reached him and looked at Zuko with a new expression, it wasn't friendly surely the protective brother glare and it held a death promise in his penetrating glare
Sokka straitened up and looked at Zuko "you're interested in my little sister?" he asked with an arched eyebrow, Zuko kind of wondered if Sokka ever dealt with guys interested in Katara before….he took things harshly when it came to guys taking liking in her. Now it was then he noticed Sokka was still looking at him expectantly with the same stare "since when?" he added sounding merely interested and suspicious
Zuko rubbed the back of his neck and thought for a moment in fact, he wasn't sure how long he been interested in her and blushed "I'm not exactly sure how long I was interested in her" he replied and Sokka made a look as if wondering if Zuko actually was attracted to her BEFORE they became part of the same team
"And shes interested in you?" he asked standing up with boomerang in hand as he walked casually around Zuko yet actually blocking the exit
Zuko seeing this thought it better to stand up and saw Sokka leaning against the rock wall, boomerang in hand and sword by the entrance; he rubbed the back of his neck when a goofy smile suddenly appeared on his pale face the more he thought of the object of his current affections "I think she proved that more than once before" it was a surprise for Sokka to see such a goofy look on Zuko's face when most of the time it was stoic and calm
Then another thought acured to Sokka, remembering just how the two benders making excuses and going to do something lately the past few days; he eyed his friend with a suspicious look "have you two…." trailing off with a suggestive look
Upon realization to what the warrior meant, the ex prince's face turned beet red and his good eye widen slightly "what! No, I we never..." he sputtered looking completely flustered and embarrassed
"Relax; no need to get all jumpy" Sokka said motioning his friend to calm down "jeez, Toph wasn't joking when she said you would get defensive and skittish with interrogations" picking a tiny speck of dirt off his boomerang and looked back at Zuko with an arched eyebrow "I was just making sure alright? Most guys that liked Katara weren't exactly the most trusting or respectful to say the least" he said looking serious
"So I'm going to ask you a few questions, and you have to answer with the first thing that comes in mind" he continued before thinking for a moment and then glared at Zuko "and answer truthfully. I want to know for sure your serious about your intentions for her" he added
Zuko stood there for a moment staring at Sokka like he was out of his mind, if he wanted to question his reasons then let him "you have my word" he replied as he held his hand up, if Sokka was gonna be taking his role as older brother seriously…..then Zuko would just have to endure the questions…..cause heck Sokka was practically the only barrier between him and dating Katara….besides Aang
Sokka walked around Zuko eyeing the banished prince until the first question in his mind popped out of his mouth "would you do anything to make her happy?" it was a simple question and Zuko thought Sokka would just ask the typical questions to find relief that his sister would be taken care of
"Yes" Zuko replied crossing his arms over his chest and turned his head to see Sokka nod his head in approval
"Will you do anything in your power to keep her safe, despite the fact that she can take care of herself?" pointing at the older teen with wide blue suspicious eyes
"Yes"
Sokka seemed satisfied as he rubbed his chin. But if he was going to be responsible of who his little sister dated in their dad's absense...he would have to do alot better "will you ever hurt her?"
"Never"
Mentally sighing in relief at this reassuring thought "Will you risk your own life to save hers?" Sokka asked and waited for the reply looking at Zuko for any signs of anxiety
"Yes" he replied giving Sokka a serious look, the guy had to take the hint that he would do anything for Katara. That he was ready to risk anything for the sake of her health and happiness
And by speeding the questions like crazy he decided that maybe Zuko was just to concentrated on answering to never bother what he was answering "will you do whatever Sokka tells you to do?" he asked with a dopey grin on his face as he anticipated the firebender's response
"Ye Sokka!" Zuko glared at him as the water tribesman simply shrugged
"It was worth a shot" Sokka said and crossed his arms over his lean chest and stared at Zuko for a moment before letting out a reluctant sigh "as long as shes happy, I don't see the big deal about it" and held out his hand grasping Zuko's pale arm in a typical water tribe's greeting, he really wanted his little sister to be happy and there was no doubt of his trust on Zuko but he will be prepared if Zuko ever did anything to make her upset
Glad that he finally got Sokka's consent, Zuko turned to leave the tent until he once again heard Sokka speak up "I'm sure you won't be worried about this, but" and turned to see the teen glaring at him pointing his boomerang at the ex prince "if you ever hurt my sister, you and I are gonna have a problem" and cringed at the threatening look the guy gave him, sure he didn't see Sokka as a threat but the glare almost reminded him of the time of Katara's threat.
He walked out of the tent and walked away...currently deep in thought of the whole event; upon seeing Toph and Suki sitting by the fire, he was surprised to find them still awake but none the less ignored them as he walked passed them...stopping when Suki spoke to him on her place by the fire pit "so how was your talk with Sokka?" Suki asked smiling when she noticed him cringe "he didn't give you a hard time did he?" she added smirking at her friend
Zuko relatively didn't like people getting in his business, and he never really given a thought of his and Katara's 'subtle' relationship... that the two girls were aware of it was a failure on their part. But should he ignore them, should he snap? Should he pretend he had no clue what they were talking about? Instead he took deep breaths and slumped his shoulders "it wasn't that bad, I got his approval" he admitted as he looked around the camp for any signs of the young monk...sighing in relief to see the kid asleep on Appa not far away
"That's great Sparky" Toph said picking her toes while Momo sat perched comfortably on her shoulder. She smirked as she stared at the firebender who resumed to start walking away "now all you need is Hakoda's approval" and her smirk widen upon 'seeing' Zuko stop suddenly in his tracks for a moment before continuing his way ignoring the giggles coming from the two girls
He walked casually in front of a certain tent looking around for any witness around...albeit unaware of the tan hand peeking from the tent flap grabbing a hold of his tunic and with a surprised yelp, Zuko was pulled into the tent.
Looking up, he was able to register what happened and felt a sudden weight rest comfortably on top of him. He looked up to see Katara straddling his waist with a smile on her tan face, blue eyes sparkling with unconcealed excitment "so what did he say?" she asked looking at him smile still plastered on her face making him smile back...he just couldn't stop smiling with her around
He leaned up on his elbows and gave her a smirk as he shook his head in amusement "he was actually okay with it, if I don't say it gave me another opinion of his strange ways" he said looking amused and chuckled when she smacked him on the arm
"That's great" Katara said smiling as she traced her fingers over the burned skin on his face, he didn't mind her touching it….so far he only allowed her to touch it, besides Toph…but that was only one time because the kid was unaware of the scarring on his face...she had been another exception then
"Now the only one in the team that doesn't know about our relationship is"
"Aang" Katara cut in. Suddenly quite as a worried look replaced happiness on her tan face, absent mindly fiddling with the gold sash of his tunic; sitting up, Zuko grabbed her hands and looked at her as he rubbed her arm in comfort
"We could always tell him tomorrow" he suggested watching her as she chewed her bottom lip in concentration...suddenly facinated with fingering his lips
"He's got a lot in his mind right now" Katara said even then not sounding so convinced of her own words "he has been worrying over how to defeat the Fire Lord recently and we both know about his feelings for me, don't you think telling him this will give him some issues?" even then he knew she was doubting herself, he didn't know how long she planned to tell the kid….was she expecting to tell the Avatar until this war was over or something!
"Katara, I know he has the same feelings that I have for you" he said sitting up prying her off his lap and gave her a serious look "but he has the right to know, and I don't want to go on keeping our relationship a secret because you're afraid of what it might do to him" he added as he laid on his back looking at her to say patiently something against it and saw the defeated look on her face
Katara sighed and knew Zuko did have a point….he always seemed to know what to say that made him seem right in whatever they spoke about "I'll tell him when I can" knowing well Aang's schedule was rather too busy for the usual chats and goofing around as he was busy training Fire, Water and Earth bending….and there was rarely times when she and Aang would be alone to have private conversations
She noticed he still held the brooding look on his pale face as he eyed her, she crawled toward him and kissed his cheek and nuzzled his neck noticing his mouth forming a small smile. She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted when his lips pressed against hers preventing her from uttering a word, Katara gladly returned the affectionate gesture
He sat up and placed his hand on her waist deepening the kiss, she curled her fist in his dark hair….she felt heat overwhelm her and figured it was coming from Zuko considering how extremely warm his body always is…..being the firebender that he is
They were still in their passionate embrace until they suddenly heard heavy footsteps coming from outside the tent "would you two lovebirds settle down already? I can feel your erratic heart beats that it won't let me sleep" Toph said sounding rather annoyed to be awoken from her sleep
With flushed faces, Zuko and Katara looked embarrassed. And Toph not getting any response from the older teens and sensing the peaceful quiet of their settling heartbeats "thank you" and with that Toph returned to her rock tent
After a long moment in silence, he let out a long sigh and sat up "well I guess I should go back to my tent" he said placing a soft kiss on her cheek before getting up and walked toward the exit "G'night" he bidded as he pulled open to flap of the entrance
Katara didn't think twice as she opened her mouth "you can stay, you know?" she said and silently cursed at how she spoke without thinking, she looked at his red flushed face as he stared at her for a moment...as if trying to register what she just said "if you want" she added feeling the heat of the blush on her tan face as she looked at him with shyness. Nervously fingering her long dark hair
His blush was obvious through his pale skin as he looked at her. Surely she never asked this kind of thing before….sure they have laid down and cuddled together when sneaking away from the others and held each other, but they never went as far by sleeping together in the same place "you sure?" he asked looking at her with his good eye wide open
Katara thought about the possibilities of someone walking in her tent in the morning and reconsidered, no one entered her tent, and it was rather cold tonight. She looked at him for a moment before nodding her head in response, what was the harm anyway? He was her boyfriend after all…..Sokka shared his tent with Suki, so why can't she with Zuko?
Zuko took a deep breath and walked back toward her. Lyed down on his previous spot as he tried keeping a small distance between them...only for her to close in on him as she curled up next to him and with a content sigh; she closed her eyes and snuggled closer to his warm body
He looked at her for a moment feeling slightly stiff and uncomfortable at how close she was...and after a moment of getting used to it, sighed and relaxed his body...giving her a small peck on the lips and felt her run her fingers over his jaw, he slowly pushed her on her back and placed a hand on her waist running his thumb in small circles on her stomach...earning a sigh from the girl underneath him.
She ran her fingers through his dark hair gripping it lightly making him groan and deepen the kiss. A large pale hand ran down her thigh as he bit and pulled her bottom lip...elicting another moan from her, giving him the chance to slip his tongue into her mouth,
Katara pressed her body against his and upon realizing where this was going….Zuko pulled away from the kiss breathing hard and looked down at her flushed face "we should go to sleep" he said running his tongue on his lips for a moment and saw her nod in agreement face still slightly flushed
She accommodated herself as she curled up by his side gripping his tunic and closed her eyes sighing in contentment, Zuko wrapped an arm around her waist and pressed his cheek on the top of her head closing his eyes soon after.
~0~O0o0~0~
Zuko opened his eyes to see it was still dark...but sub-consciously sensing that the sun would rise soon enough He felt something warm and soft curled on his side and he looked down to find Katara nestled in his arms with her head resting comfortably on his chest. He smiled as he looked at her sleeping form taking in every detail while he could...her soft dark skin, those sweet soft lips that he couldn't seem to resist lately, that cute birth mark resting underneath her ear, and those closed lids that revealed beautiful blue eyes
He didn't know what he did to gain to affections of this amazing girl, but he will promise himself that he will never again do her any wrong and break her heart that she had so trustingly placed in his possession
Getting up with the comforting thought, he pulled on his boots which he didn't remember taking off and with one last back glance at his sleeping girlfriend….he left the tent.
Aang sat up yawning, stretching his muscles with a lazy sigh. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Aang looked around the campsite noticing that it was already morning. Momo who had been sleeping next to him at the moment…jumped on the kid's shoulder prepared for the eventful day ahead
Getting up, Aang jumped swiftly off Appa's head and decided it would seem like a good time to start firebending training with Zuko. His thoughts only came to stop short in its tracks as he looked around the campsite...realizing emediantly that Zuko wasn't anywhere to be seen, it seemed funny to Aang the brooding guy was usually the first to wake up
Scratching his bald head as he re-looked the campsite with confusion written on his light face "where is he?" he wondered and his gray eyes stopped at the sight of Zuko's tent "maybe hes still asleep" he suggested to Momo as he walked toward the tent with a smile on his face
Opening the flap to the entrance "hey Zu…" he trailed off when he caught sight of no ex prince; the tent was empty with the exception of Zuko's bag and Dao swords "ko….not here I guess" with a shrug, he walked away and saw Sokka sitting by the burned down campfire cleaning his sword. He slowly walked up to the guy "hey Sokka, have you seen Zuko?" he had clearly caught the warrior by surprise...when he watched his friend yelp and almost dropped his sword before catching it
Sokka glared at the monk for startling him and muttered "don't do that" he said and sheathed his sword
Rubbing the back of his neck "sorry" Aang said smiling sheepishly, knowing that Katara would most likely come out soon to make breakfast, he set a fire "well have you?" asking about the previous as Momo sat on his bald head staring at the water tribe warrior as well
Sokka thought for a moment and realized no...he hasn't seen the guy since last night when they were talking about Zuko courting Katara. Shuddering at the unwanted memory "nope, haven't seen him" and watched as Aang sighed in exasperation and near disappointment "ask Katara, maybe shes seen him" he suggested...rolling his blue eyes at seeing the kids face brighten up. It was a pretty large clearing anyway, where could the guy be? Its not like Zuko slept the night in Katara's tent…his face paled at the thought and was about to stop Aang only to see the kid already heading to the said tent.
Zuko cracked his neck and flexed his arms as he walked his way back toward the camp, after a long time of work out and meditating; though he always enjoyed spending his time with Katara, he would also enjoy the times when there was peace and quiet
The first thing that met his gold eyes had sparked mediate annoyance, seeing Aang walk toward Katara's tent practically had Zuko seething and feeling territorial over what was his. Following Aang, his good eye twitched when the kid reached out and was about to open the flap of her tent before he spoke up "what are you doing?" he asked trying to remain calm as he remembered WHO he was dealing with
Upon hearing Zuko's voice, Momo screeched as Aang jumped and whirled around sighing in relief upon seeing him "I was going to ask Katara if she seen you, that's all" he replied looking at the fire bender curiously wondering why steam was coming out of his nose….Momo seeming to be aware of the fire bender's mood…hid in Aang's shirt peeking over the kid's shoulder at the disgruntled young man
"Well, here I am. What do you want?" Aang guessed it was one of those days where Zuko would wake up in a bad mood; Zuko looked at the bald kid impatiently as he calmed his rising temper and sense of possessiveness over Katara
"I was just wondering if we could starting training fire bending" now that he found Zuko in a unpleasant mood reasons unknown to him he was reconsidering the idea. It was never a good idea to train with an angry Zuko, he winced at the sudden memory popping up
"After breakfast, then we will start our training" Zuko walked past Aang and eyed the kid who was still standing by Katara's tent with a look that wasn't friendly. Aang thinking that it was best to follow went after him.
Everyone sat gathered around the fire pit as they peacefully eating breakfast "sorry it took me awhile to make breakfast guys, I didn't sleep that well last night" Katara said popping another piece of komodo chicken into her mouth a small blush appeared on her tan face as she sat between Zuko and Aang, apparently she and Zuko had passed most of the night talking and maybe a bit to much kissing
"Jeez I wonder why" Toph said sending a glare at Zuko and Katara whose faces were blushing as she flicked a small fruit in Momo's direction, Sokka took a moment to comprehend the comment and upon realizing send a murderous glare at the ex prince who was shifting uncomfortably under their stares, Aang spirits bless his naive mind only fully understood the part of Katara getting lack of sleep
"Well that's okay" he said smiling at her as she simply smiled back hesitantly, clearly noticing the lack of change in Aang...Suki sent the couple a look that clearly read 'you haven't told him yet?' and Katara looked down at her plate ignoring the looks she and Zuko were getting
She looked at Aang for a while and opened her mouth to speak but apparently to her misfortune Sokka beat her to that task "we need to think of a new place to hide out" he said pulling out a map and placing out before him "we can't just stay here the whole time in the wide open plane, sooner or later Zuko's crazy sister could find us" sending Zuko a meek look...as if thinking that insulting his sister bothered him...quite frankly it didn't
"Well, where are we gonna go?" Toph asked picking her toes...much to everyone's chagrin and displeasure "we can't exactly find a place where someone won't want to butcher us and Aang" she added as she lay back crossing her legs
Zuko thought for moment about the safety and conditions of his families beach house, no one in his deranged family went there anymore….and it was pretty much isolated from the town citizens "how about Ember Island?" he asked randomly, he watched patiently as Sokka put a thoughtful look as he exam-ed the map before him
"Ain't that in the Fire Nation?" Sokka asked looking down the map, resting his chin on his fist
"It's a pretty safe place, there's an abandon beach house where my family used to go" he said and watched as Sokka scratched his chin a moment thinking "and it's a safe isolated distance from the town" Zuko added
Sokka tapped his fingers together and noticed the rest of the group were looking at him with expectation, he let a disgruntled sigh pass his lips 'sometimes being the map guy sucks' he thought to himself "well we don't have anywhere else to go, as long as it's safe" he said making a dismissing gesture and clasped his hands together "let's get packing" he added standing and left the circle….only coming back moments to retrieve his unfinished breakfast.
It was already the afternoon by the time everything was almost done and packed up to go; the tents were already put down, personal belongings packed, cooking utilities, etc. All storage in Appa's saddle
At the moment everyone was loading their things on Appa and getting ready to go, Aang was fixing the reins tied to Appa's horns, Zuko was loading his and Katara's stuff as she settled the pots and food they had until they saw Suki walking up to them with a confused look on her face "you guys haven't told him yet?" she asked whispering seeing that Aang was nearby. She looked on as Zuko jumped off the saddle... landing steady on his feet in front of her
Katara was straightening her tunic and looked sheepish when she looked at her friend "I tried, but it always ends up with Aang running off somewhere either fooling with Momo or talking to Sokka about the plan" she said pulling at her hair speaking quietly as she glanced at Aang who upon seeing her put a smile on his face
Suki looked at Zuko expecting his answer "we were busy training" he replied scratching the back of his neck avoiding the two girls stares
Although it was clearly none of her business to interfere in their relationship, Suki knew pretty darn well the strong feelings the young monk felt for Katara it was quite obvious in fact and knew if they didn't tell him anything sooner or later, or if he ever found out about it on his own. Things would get a little tense between Zuko and Aang…..and perhaps the whole Gaang
"You're gonna tell him soon, right?" she asked watching as Aang rubbed Appa's forehead from the corner of her eye, she felt a bit relieved to see them nod in response "alright then, Katara there is a couple sacks of food left for packing….can you give me a hand?" Suki asked looking at the couple
"Sure" Katara replied and went to follow Suki; Zuko watched as she walked away and trailed his golden eyes over her figure, a smirk appearing on his face as he felt the swell of male pride at the thought knowing that she was all his and his alone. He couldn't compare her to Mai….sure his ex girlfriend was rather pretty and sometimes there was moments when she was acting sweet….yet it couldn't compare to Katara
The sound of someone clearing his throat broke Zuko from his thoughts and saw Sokka with his arms crossed...giving him a look that said he wasn't pleased by the way Zuko had been leering at his little sister "what?" Zuko asked feigning innocent. His response was Sokka pointed two fingers at his blue eyes and then pointed a finger at the firebender giving him the 'I'm watching you' sign before resuming his way towards Appa
Zuko turned to see Toph looking at his direction with an arched eyebrow and a smirk plastered on her pale face "nice save Sparky" punching him on his arm as she passed getting on Appa as well with Aang's help, Zuko seriously hoped the kid hadn't noticed the intent stare and relaxed when he saw the kid goofing around with Sokka….he took a deep breath before climbing on Appa.
Zuko mused over the idea of being surrounded by a mass of clouds as he lead Appa to their next destination. Listening to Sokka talk about something of how quiet it should have been the last time the were hiding in a mass of cloud, moments later heard Toph make a snarky reply on how it would be even more quiet if he kept his mouth shut….there was babbling coming from the warrior who felt undignified by the comment
He looked back at the others behind him sitting on the saddle and watched Katara's graceful movements as she kept the cloud formed, what bothered him somewhat was the arrow boy kneeling next to her as he helped her….all the while smiling that goofy smile of his at her
Zuko made a ticking noise with his tongue as he looked back ahead of him with a glare on his pale face. Surely he would always be the kind of guy who became easily jealous of seeing his girl with another guy….and it bothered him a bit to see Katara with a kid who was in love with her what a lie! It ticked him off completely but could he do anything about it? No, he couldn't….last time he tried that, he got into a fight with Mai
Toph seemed to sense the glares Zuko has been sending Aang though out the flight, a smirk appeared on her pale face at the kid's carelessness 'poor fool, doesn't know someones burning hole into him' she thought as the smirk on her face widen as she laid back against the saddle enjoying the silence.
~0~O0o0~0~
The flight was silent with the exception of the occasional murmuring commenting of the war plan and what they would do once they reached the beach; it was near dusk by the time Zuko had landed Appa by the house, leaving the bison in hands of Sokka to settle him as the others unpacked their things
Once everything was unloaded, Aang decided that he'd stay with Appa for a while and find a nice spot for the animal to rest while the others went ahead to the house. Zuko seemed to notice the others were quite relaxed...but even he was still able to notice the weariness and cautions of being in fire nation territory
It was Katara that seemed the most worried…always taking quick glances around every which bush, rock and tree they passed, it was then she finally speak her worries "are you sure she was cut off when Zuko spoke
"Yes this place is isolated from the town" he assured her as he looked down at her
"And no one"
"No, its private propriety…no one would come here" he said looking ahead
"And you sure"
"Yes, my messed up family hasn't come here for years and I'm sure they won't come back again" he said plucking a fire lily from a nearby bush, twirling it in his fingers for a moment and added "its safe" and offering the red flower to her and smiled when she accepted it
The other three seemed to be amused to see Katara's worry simply taken care of, Sokka was trying his best not to snort with mirth over the fact that Zuko would simply interrupt Katara so easily to cease her worry….Suki simply found it kind of cute that Zuko knew what his girlfriend was gonna say…..Toph? She found it as entertainment and was even snacking on Aang's small food sack handing Momo a small fruit once in a while as she 'watched'.
After Zuko had showed the Gaang their rooms and let everyone settle down and explore the house, he left Katara for last on showing her the room she would stay in.
She wasn't used to sleeping in a fairly large fancy like rooms like this; it was quite big and had a balcony with a view of the ocean, a large canopy bed and a vanity, and a shoji screen stood not far from the vanity
After taking everything in, she turned to look at Zuko, who stood leaning against the doorframe with a smile on his face as he watched her move around "may I ask where you're going to sleep?" she asked noticing he had settled his bag next to the door and was fairly suspicious... wondering if he had planned to share the room with her
"I'm staying in the room next to yours" he replied jerking his to the left. She nodded in agreement and had remembered noticing yet another room at the end of the hall
"Have you planned this?" she asked placing her hands on her hips as a smirk appeared on her tan face "to have an easier way to sneak into my room without getting caught?" she added and raised an eyebrow as she expected an answer from him
There was no reason to sneak around anymore, but yet she wasn't aware of where the room Aang would sleep in was located...as she had been busy looking around the main foyer while Zuko had lead the Avatar away…..and the poor kid was still in the dark about the whole thing about their relationship
A small blush was transparent on his pale face...but quickly faded as he then tilted his head "I assure you that I wasn't thinking of such" the smirk on his face told her other wise. She watched him as a tiny flame engulfed his finger as he lit up the lights around them...brightening up the room a bit "but surely you've been thinking about it a while, am I correct?" he adds and smirked as he watched her face heated up with a blush...she was thankful for the dim light and her dark skin
She just smiled coyly in response "I'm just worried about how Sokka might react….finding out his little sister's boyfriend has been sneaking into her room at night" it was then his happiness morphed into a serious look…he knew well what she meant behind those words…and it was clear she wasn't worried about her brother...but she was worried about Aang, it bothered him that HIS girlfriend couldn't stop worrying about the kid
It took her a moment to register that she was being pressed against the wall near the exit leading to the balcony, the look in his golden eyes showed clear that he was getting possessive and his patience with Aang was dropping a notch. It was then he claimed her lips, she stood there in shock before slowly closing her eyes and responded to his rough kiss...wrapping her arms around his neck as she tilted her head
She could hear him between each kiss he gave and could make out the word 'mine'.…it was then her ears caught the sound of approaching footsteps and knew by the lightness of them that they belonged to Aang….and he was heading their way.
Out of the sheer panic of being caught in their passionate embrace, Katara formed a water whip and aimed it at Zuko and watched in shock as her boyfriend flew across the room landing by the other side of the spacey room
The sound of his grunt and a cursed word was rather low as Aang appeared at the door with a excited smile on his face "hey Katara, I was wondering if you wanted to head to the beach and practice water bending?" she took a look at the boy and noticed he was already dressed in his fire nation clothes...giving her a good excuse to use to get rid of him, she was relieved that he was unaware of the hidden presence in her room
"I think I should get dressed in my fire nation clothes" she said as she brushed back stray hairs from her face and quickly added "and I have to make dinner soon after…you know how Sokka is" Katara said and saw his disappointed look "maybe tomorrow?" smiling in relief when she saw his face lit up emediantly with a wide smile on his face
"Sure, see you outside" and it was then he went sprinting off down the hall perhaps going off to find Toph she felt guilty for hiding secrets from him….letting him think that things between them were what he thought as a developing relationship, when in reality she was already developing one with Zuko
When Katara turned around she nearly yelped in surprise at seeing Zuko standing in front of her drenched in water she hadn't realized how much water she used on the whip and he was giving her a look that clearly said he wasn't a tad bit pleased by her actions; she water bended the water from his drenched body and enclosed it in her pouch leaving Zuko dry
Instead of saying anything right away, Zuko headed outside on the balcony "that was a perfect time to tell him about us, you know?" she heard him speak from the balcony as she opened her bag and took out her fire nation clothes "I could tell him myself, but then he would probably go all Avatar state on me" he added, she heard the tisking noise he made with his tongue as she started undoing her belt
One thing she well aware of…..was that Zuko wasn't a patient person, and frankly the patience he once had was slowly waning. She couldn't help it if she tried to avoid telling Aang the truth…..she cared to much about his feelings and telling him something like this would undoubtly leave him heartbroken and perhaps feel sudden hatred toward the ex prince
She made her way toward the solitary standing shoji screen to get out of his view and started removing her blue tunic. Zuko was looking out the ocean until he heard the soft rustling noise of fabric hitting the ground, he wasn't sure if he should turn around or leave….he had to much honor and respect for his own good to just violate a girl's privacy, he cleared his throat awkwardly as he scratched the nape of his neck...suddenly feeling his skin heat up
"So is there any markets nearby?" her voice made him turn his head and he saw her hang her tunic and dark blue pants on the screen, he turned away quickly when he caught glimpse of her shadowed form behind the screen and cleared his throat turning back to look at the ocean…..he definitely didn't want to let her know that he had looked at her and how it affected him
Clearing his throat he pushed his hair away from his face...and let a small flame pass his lips as the dark locks fell over his eyes "yeah, why you need something from town?" he asked arching his only eyebrow
"No, I just want to make sure so incase were out of food….we can go get more" she replied, he heard her move around and wasn't sure if it was safe or not to turn around "what do you think?" he heard her ask sounding suddenly shy, he turned around and was suddenly left speechless….red DEFINITELY looked good on her
He gulped and pulled at his shirt collar suddenly feeling a little too warm "wow" was the only thing he could say as he eyed her Fire nation outfit
Katara blushed seemingly pleased by his reaction "why thank you" she said pulling at her hair and walked up to him grabbing his pale hand "can't stand here all day, my brother will probably be wondering why I hadn't started making dinner yet" she said dragging him along down the hall….'wow' was the only thing he was able to say as she lead him down to the main room.
The night was like the usual, Sokka made his pathetic funny jokes, Toph made her witty remarks about them once in a while, Aang mentioned some wild adventures he went through 100 years ago….the usual
Aang didn't notice anything unusual about the couple…and quite frankly Katara was beginning to wonder if the kid was clueless to see the fact that she and Zuko had hung back for the ex prince to take her on a tour of the whole house after dinner. Aang probably thought they were just spending the time bonding and growing a stronger friendship.
Zuko walked Katara to her room after then "and I already introduced you to your room" he said leaning against the wall next to her door
Katara looked around her and smiled "it's a really nice house" she commented smiling up at him, she couldn't help duck her head under the intense gaze "goodnight" Katara murmured brushing a strand a dark hair from her tan face
Zuko smirked noticing the faint blush "G'night" he whispered and cupped her face with both hands before leaning in and pressed his lips against hers, she placed her hands on his elbows and sighed when he bit her lip opening up as his tongue slipped through teasing her. This was far different from the kiss she and Aang had shared, when he had first kissed her…it was a innocent rather awkward sweet kiss
Before she could ponder about the heated kiss she was sharing with Zuko, he pulled away leaving a dazed Katara….chuckling at the heated look on her face, he brushed a loose strand of dark hair from her face and smiled down at her "see ya" he said before heading to his room.
Mostly everyone was excited– minus Zuko and partially Katara about going to watch the play, Katara was slightly weary about having themselves exposed but Sokka had insisted that they should at least take a break and see how these actors had portrayed them.
Just about when Aang decided to sit next to Katara…Zuko took his place at the last moment, feeling a bit possessive at the moment "hey, uh….I wanted to sit.." he hesitated for a moment, pointing at where Zuko was sitting as he rubbed the back of his neck shyly...he wasn't going to say his reasons, and he really didn't understand why Zuko was interfering "there" he finished clutching his hands together
Zuko lowered his hood and gave Aang a look that said it wasn't exactly pleased by the ordeal, like hell he was going to let the little monk sit next to his girlfriend "just sit next to me, what's the big deal?" he said sporting same stoic look on his pale face as he looked at the bald kid
"I was" he trailed off looking at Katara's direction for a moment and then looked at the stage "just…I wanted to" he sighed in defeat and sat next to Zuko "okay" he sighed in defeat pulling his hat lower
At the corner of his eye, Zuko noticed Katara look at him with an arched eyebrow silently as if asking about what had just happened….he simply smirked at her and gave her hand a small squeeze, the look in his gold eyes clearly held the not so subtle claim on her, Katara knew well what he was silently proclaiming and simply rolled her blue eyes in response before looking back at the stage.
They were horrified by the portrayle of their own characters, it was disturbing by a fact the playwright had put an actress for Aang's character and Katara just couldn't believe how emotional and whorish they portrayed her character…..and Sokka was insulted to think that they saw him as a hungry moron with lack of humor.
Right at the current moment they were watching the scene where they meet Jet. They never thought or considered that Zuko had once back then met the Freedom fighter, but by the annoyed look on his pale face….told them Zuko didn't seem pleased to see the character.
Actor Jet held actress Katara close to him as she cried obnoxiously in his shirt "don't cry, baby" he said tilting her chin up "Jet will wipe out this nasty town" he added pointing at the stage and looks back at her "for you" the platform their standing on rises as 'the river' comes across the stage
Actress Katara looked up at 'Jet' with a seductive look "oh Jet, you're so bad" she said in a seductive voice as she clinged to him, they weren't sure if they heard correctly but they swore they heard 'Jet' growl before dipping his head and passionately kissing her
Toph was cackling like mad at what she just heard...not quite believing one bit Katara to be like that, Sokka looked disturbed beyond belief at the event that never happened, making Suki take course to cover his eyes and prevent him from any further disturbance.
Katara held her head embarrassed by the scene that never happened, she took a chance to look up and winced when she noticed Zuko giving her a look that said that better have not happened….she simply smiled meekly before looking away from his heated stare and tugged at her hair as she looked back at the stage to avoid his intense stare.
~o0o~
They were more disturbed by the scene of the siege in the North Pole, only with the sole exception that Sokka was getting rather weepy by the heartbreaking memories of losing Yue…..
Actress 'Aang' came swooping in 'destroying' the fire Nation army and laughing all the while she was at it "the Avatar is back to save the day! Yay" she cheered laughing with glee as she kicked more of the 'ships', falling on her stomach in the process. It was then the curtains had lowered much to the Gaangs relief with the exception of Toph who was applauding along with the rest of the entire audience, Katara looked beyond bewildered as Zuko pulled on his hood and Aang groaned as he throws his entire body forward….Sokka looked entirely displeased.
~o0o~
They were outside sitting on the steps to the balcony, everyone seemed to be brooding over the bad work on their characters. Toph seemed to be enjoying the show as it is, as she seemed highly amused and fascinated by the adventures they had before meeting her "so far, this intermission is the best part of the play" Zuko said running his fingers through his dark hair and let out a sigh as Katara leaned against him
Sokka walked down the stairs holding a paper bag filled with meat in his grasp as Suki looked up at him with an amused look on her face...despite her disappointing over the play "apparently, the playwright thinks I'm an idiot" Sokka said sitting down next to Suki as he reached into the bag of food "who tells bad jokes about meat all the time" he added taking out a strip of meat
Suki arches her eyebrow at this and smirks "yeah, you tell bad jokes about plenty of other topics" she said smirking as she rest her chin on her hand watching as he snapped at the strip of meat chewing angrily
Swallowing the piece of meat and pretty much obvious to the hidden insult his girlfriend had just given "I know!" he exclaimed biting again another chunk of meat
Aang looked pretty displeased by the performance of his character, not bothering to ponder of the close gap between Zuko and Katara "at least this Sokka actor looks like you" he said perched on his spot at the bottom of the stairs as Toph looked down at his direction with a smirk on her pale face "that woman playing the Avatar doesn't resemble me at all" he added pulling his hat lower as a scowl appeared on his childish face
Toph arched a dark eyebrow as the smirk on her face broaden "I don't know, you are more in touch with your feminine side than most guys" she said crossing her arms over her chest, the monk stood up...an annoyed huff escaping his lips
Katara was absently playing with Zuko's hair until she turned to look at Aang's direction with a reassuring look "relax, Aang" she assured him as he turned to look at her "they're not accurate portrayals. It's not like I'm" she placed a hand on her chest "a preachy crybaby who can't resist giving overemotional speeches about hope all the time" she added and then noticed the skeptical looks they were all directing at her…even Zuko was giving her the same look "what?" she asked looking at them with a questioning look. They didn't believe she was being portrayed correctly, could they?
Apparently Aang was the first to reply after the awkward silence "yeah." He uttered as he sat back down "that's not you at all" he finished leaning forward
Toph rolled her blurry green eyes at their moody behavior, it was really ruining her fun on the situation "listen, friends. It's obvious that the playwright did his research. I know it must hurt but what you're seeing up there on that stage is the truth" she said crossing her arms over her chest.
The next part got them laughing and Zuko shocked enough to drop the parchment he was holding in his hands when they discovered the Toph character turned out to be a tall burly man, much to every ones shock and bafflement Toph looked extremely happy about the work on her character. She took the gender swap far better than Aang did and she loved every moment of it much to the others wonder as to why...
"So, you're blind?" 'Aang' asked as she pointed at the tall buff man, sporting a curios look on her face and waved a hand in front of his face making him suddenly laugh
"I can see you doing that" he said pointing at 'Aang' with an amused smirk on his dark face "I see everything that you see except that I don't see like you do. I release a sonic wave from my mouth" 'Toph' said smirk on his tan face broadening
He turned to the trio and screamed making them lean away, the noise seemed strong enough to send their clothes fluttering by the vibration. The audience cringed at the noise as well as the Gaang...with the exception for Toph who just looked on happily and impressed
'Toph' stopped screaming, leaving the trio looking impressed and rumpled "there. I got a pretty good look at you" he said smiling in satisfaction. The audience applauded and Toph despite not being able to see a thing that was going on, clapped fervently herself with a freaky grin on her pale face as the other teens calmly clapped in contrast to the young girl's.
0~o0o~0
They group watched in dread as the play went on. As far as they all noticed, the playwright made them complete morons losing to every single battle they had engaged in, it was either of stupidity or whatever nonsense. Zuko was even surprised and curios to wonder if Jet had actually been killed in some point….the Gaang didn't even know themselves for sure if the Freedom fighter survived or not.
Zuko and Katara were both a little weary when the scene in the crystal catacombs showed up; it wasn't the best memory at all for the couple, as it was a constant reminder of his betrayal. They were even worried that the playwright might warp this scene into something else entirely, like every other scene they have seen so far.
The actress 'Katara' and actor 'Zuko' sat alone in the quite catacombs. 'Katara' was looking at 'Zuko' with a bit too much interest, Katara was not anticipating how flirtatious the playwright might have made her "I have to admit, Prince Zuko. I really find you attractive" she said eyeing the actor with a sultry smirk on her dark chubby face
'Zuko' sat on a rock body, and turned away from her and huffed...lifting his nose in the air in a self centered manner "you don't have to make fun of me" he said making 'Katara' cringe at the harshness of his voice
She sat down next to him, crossing her legs as she tried looking at him in the face "but I mean it. I had eyes for you since the day you first captured me" she said looking at him with half lidded eyes. Zuko and Katara looked at each other, faces blushing harshly at the thought of what was happening on stage. In the corner of Zuko's eye, he noticed Aang grabbing hold of the railings...frowning and seemed to seriously not like the part as much as they did
'Zuko' stood up and walked a few feet away from 'Katara' until a look of realization appeared on his face "wait. I thought you were the Avatar's girl" he said looking away from the tan woman in disgust. Aang nodded his head in response to this not noticing Zuko lets a low growl at the statement, seeing as now it was the quite opposite
'Katara' laughs in amusement at this statement, standing up and walked toward while she laughed 'Zuko' "the Avatar? Why, hes like a little brother to me" she said letting out another small laugh "I certainly don't think of him in a romantic way. Besides, how could he ever find out about this" she said softly as she and 'Zuko' embraced. Aang looked sadden at the actress's statement and chanced a glance at Katara's direction, she was currently looking down on her lap looking quite guilty for some reason
Aang stood up in irritation...catching Sokka's attention "oh, you're getting up. Can you get me some fire flakes?" he asked whispering to the retreating boy, satisfied as he placing an arm around his girlfriend's shoulder before pulling it back to whisper at Aang much to Suki's irritation "oh, and some fire gummies" he added replacing his arm at its previous spot on a now irritated Suki's shoulder.
They hadn't seen Aang in a while since he left; some even considered him lucky to be able to miss the passing scenes they rest had to go through watching, it had left plenty of them dreaded watching the scene of Aang's near death and left Zuko go through guilt of the horrible actions he had committed and worsen the moment the scene of him betraying his uncle had passed;
They were back standing outside the theater as others around them made small talk, Zuko was the only one to sit on the floor with a brooding look on his face "it seems like every time there's a big battle, you guys barely make it out alive. I mean, you guys lose a lot." Suki said staring at the four members of the Gaang with a smirk on her face
It was a surprise that Sokka was the one to answer back "you're one to talk, Suki. Didn't Azula take you captive? That's right she did" he said looking at his girlfriend with an equally amused look, the smirk disappeared from her face only to be replaced by a frown
She arched her eyebrow and gave him a menacing look "are you trying to get on my bad side?" she asked narrowing her eyes at her boyfriend
He just leaned against the wall as he shrugged his shoulders in response "I'm just saying" he replied as if it were a matter a fact of what he said.
Katara walked in and looked around worriedly...noticing with distress that Aang was still missing from the group "does anyone know where Aang is?" she asked looking at the four teens before her
"He left to get me fire gummies like, 10 minutes ago" Sokka replied and leaned against the wall crossing his arms over his chest looking impatient "and I'm still waiting" he added, Katara looked at the direction that lead to the balcony
"I'm going to check outside" she said heading toward the exit leading to the balcony.
Her search for the young monk was short when she found him standing on the balcony looking at the view of the sea. She closed the draped door behind her, dimming the light and looked at the boy before her with worry "are you alright?" she asked noticing his back tense somewhat at the sound of her voice before replying
He looked frustrated as he answered "no, I'm not" he said taking off his hat and throwing it to the ground "I hate this stupid play" he added looking back at the view in front of him
Katara let out a sigh and walked toward him and placed a reassuring hand on his lean shoulder "I know it's upsetting, but it sounds like you're overreacting" she said flinching and pulled away when Aang snapped
He raised his arms to the sky "Overreacting, If I hadn't blocked my chakra, I'd probably be in the Avatar State right now" he yelled as he leaned back on the railing.
Zuko and Toph ignored the boy running around dressed and acting like Aang. Sokka and Suki had left moments ago to sneak into the backstage so Sokka could help the actor portraying him with better jokes for the play; Toph stood next to the brooding ex prince and let out a sigh "jeez. Everyone's getting so upset about their characters. Even you seem more down than usual and that's saying something." She said frowning down at his direction where he sat
Zuko glared at the girl leaning against the wall next to him, figures. Of course she wouldn't see anything bad about the play "you don't get it. It's different for you. You get a muscular version of yourself taking down 10 bad guys at once and making sassy remarks." He said frowning as he looked up at her
A smirk made its way on her pale face at the thought "yeah. That's pretty great" she said smiling
Zuko let out a long sigh as the look on his face turned regretful "But for me, it takes all the mistakes I've made in my life and shove them back in my face. My Uncle. He's always been by my side even when things were bad. He was there for me. He taught me so much and how do I repay him?" suddenly feeling anger inside himself as he remembered what he had done to his uncle "With a knife in his back. It's my greatest regret and I may never get to redeem myself" he added looking down at his lap...the feeling of shame consuming his emotions
Toph slid to the ground sitting down next to the beaten guy she considered an older brother "you have redeemed yourself to your uncle" she said turning her head at his direction "you don't realize it, but you already have" she said comforting the young man next to her
Zuko looked at the earth bender next to him with an unsure look on his pale scared face "how do you know?" he asked arching his only eyebrow
She smiled at the memory of first meeting the old man "because I once had a long conversation with the guy and all he would talk about was you" she replied tilting her head his way
Zuko lowered his hood and smiled at her "really?" he asked looking at the small girl with a hopeful smile
"Yeah, and it was kind of annoying" she said smirking at him
A frown replaced the smile that was once on his face "oh, sorry" he muttered looking down
She leaned against him with a smile still plastered on her face "but it was also very sweet. All your Uncle wanted was for you to find your own path and see the light. Now you're here with us." She said looking up at him "he'd be proud" she added noticing his mood change to that of contentment, it was out of the blue she swung her arm back and punched his arm
Zuko cringed at the painful impact "ow!" he yelped rubbing his abused arm and stared at Toph with a look of disbelief "what was that for?" he asked continuing to rub his arm
Toph smiled at his direction "that's how I show affection" she replied. The boy from earlier suddenly stopped running for a moment, standing in front of Zuko and studied the teens's appearance for a moment before a smile appeared on his chubby face
He pointed at the ex prince "Your Zuko costume is pretty good, but your scar's" he trailed of pointing at the scar on Zuko's face "is on the wrong side" he finished before running off, leaving a rather pissed off ex prince who tried to keep control of his anger
He pointed at his face "the scar is not on the wrong side!" he yelled at the running boy before yanking on his hood, crossing his arms over his chest as he attempted to cool down his raised temper.
Aang pondered over the last scene he saw before he left and let out a resigned sigh "Katara, did you really mean what you said in there?" he asked turning his back against the railing and crossed his lean arms over his chest, he knew he would be grieved if it was true….he thought he had proved his love for the water bender back on the day of the black sun, the idea of her and Zuko being together was just to harsh for him to even think about
Katara looked at the Avatar with confusion written on her tan face "in where? What are you talking about?" she asked turning to him
Aang was becoming irritated at her ignorance and clenched his fist "on stage. When you said I was like a brother" he trailed off pointing toward the direction leading to the theater "to you and you didn't have feelings for me" he finished placing a hand on his chest
Katara felt suddenly nervous about this, this was getting close to having to reveal everything to him and knowing how he is….letting out his anger here would be a horrible event "I didn't say that. An actor said that" she said placing her hand on her left elbow, her answer was true. Everything the two actors said and did on the stage never happened…didn't mean she was probably thinking it at the time
Aang looked relieved for a moment until he suddenly felt depressed "but its true, isn't it? We kissed at the invasion and I thought we were going to be together but we're not" he said looking at her with a sad look on his face...he was literally punching a hole into her heart with such a heart breaking look
Katara felt unsure and turned to face the ocean instead of him "Aang" she trailed off shaking her head "I don't know" she murmured looking down at the railing
"Why don't you know?" he asked looking at her hoping for an answer
Katara turned serious at his persisting "because were in the middle of a war and" she hesitated, wrapping her arms across her chest and looked toward the direction of the theater "we have other things to worry about. This isn't the right time" she said not sounding so convinced of herself
Katara didn't know why she had said that. Sure, it was what she had striven about before...she didn't want to be in a relationship when there was a war going on. But she fell head over heels for Zuko so hard, it made her forget her words…..things change she guessed, time changed things a lot
Aang was getting impatient and wondered why she thought this, Sokka and Suki were in a relationship during a war….why weren't they? "Well, when is the right time?" he asked and saw her get a look of impatience and pleading
She tugged at her hair and looked deep in thought "Aang, I'm sorry but right now" she trailed off tugging at her hair again and closed her eyes as a sigh past her lips "I'm just a little confused" she added as she worried her bottom lip...she wanted this to stop
Aang held his hands up expecting an explanation "why are you confused? We should have been together back at the invasion. Why are you holding back?" he was seriously pressuring her
There was no holding back to this, she had kept this hidden from him too long and it couldn't stay that way any longer 'time to tell the truth' she kept her eyes closed and sighed "Aang I…" she was cut off when she felt a pair of lips on hers. She pulled back as she looked at him with shock and disbelief...how could he do such an impulsive thing? "I just said I was confused. I'm going inside" she said walking back inside shaking her head in disbelief. Leaving a regretful monk behind
Aang turned toward the ocean butting his head with his fist "Argh!" banging his head on the railing "I'm such an idiot" he muttered as he continued to hit his head against the railing.
Zuko and Toph sat there in silence until she felt Katara coming their way "here comes your girlfriend" she teased with a smirk on her face "go on and making puppy eyes at her instead of whining at me" she added shoving him gently, getting him to ruffle her hair in response
He stood up and walked toward Katara, placing a kiss on her cheek "did you find him?" he asked looking down at her, watching as a frown took place on her lovely face and received a nod in response a moment later "upset about the play?" he asked forgetting that Toph was still sitting on the floor nearby
She fumbled with the gold band around her arm "he was just upset, now he just did something to upset me" she saw him waiting patiently for her say it "I'd like to talk about this later" she said and he nodded reluctantly before placing a chaste kiss on her lips emediantly getting Toph's attention
She gagged when she sensed the contact "you guys aren't gonna be swapping saliva are ya?" she asked and the couple stared at her with wide eyes. Faces red with embarrassment as they failed to remember she was still sitting there "cause if you are, give me a warning" she added, standing up and walked back inside the theater.
After a while of not showing up for the next scene, Aang took a seat next to Sokka instead of sitting at his previous spot bringing his knees close to his chest. He looked at Katara's direction and didn't know if it were his imagination or not….but it looked like she was leaning against Zuko or something, before he could ponder over it "here's what you missed" Sokka whispered
Holding up his hand and took count "we went to the fire nation and you got better and Katara was the Painted Lady" he trailed off listing the things with his fingers "I got a sword and I think I killed Combustion Man" he finished all the while Aang's attention was on Katara "ooo look, The Invasion's about to start. Shh" he whispered not bothering to wonder why Aang looked so dejected as he lowered his head onto his knees.
'Katara' and 'Aang' were standing on the 'submarine' "I just want to let you know Aang, that I'll always love you" she trailed off placing her hand over her heart a let out a deep breath "like a brother" she added smiling at the actress in front of her
'Aang' puts a large happy smile on her face "I wouldn't want it any other way" she said swinging her arm across her body happily, they shared a hand shake and a friendly nod before 'Aang' pulled out her rather small glider and 'flew' off, 'Katara' looked up as she waved goodbye. Aang pulled down his hat, feeling embarrassed about the situation and noticed Katara turning her head to the side...not to look at him but at Zuko and vaguely heard him whisper reassurance in her ear…he didn't know what about.
Sokka and the whole audience were laughing hysterically at the actor's new brought up jokes and Sokka felt pretty much pride and relief at what a good idea it was to help out the actor portraying him with the jokes.
The group thought the play had finally come to an end but surprisingly the playwright had put up on how the events on the day of the comet would be. The next couple of scenes were mostly like every other. Incorrect. Like Zuko's joining to the group in the scene was just to much of a short consideration to the 'Gaang' and they didn't even show the weariness everyone else felt when he actually did join them, they didn't even show Katara's hatred toward him
Katara felt anger pent up inside of her when she heard that everyone in the theater minus the Gaang itself had applauded when they saw 'Zuko' being defeated and promptly killed in his battle with Azula. Katara looked and most of the group looked at his direction, to see a stunned look...yet the hurt was still visibly written on his pale face. She took his warm hand in her's and gave it a small squeeze getting a response back as he tangled his pale fingers with her slender tan ones
Like the battle between 'Zuko' and 'Azula'. It was a horror to see that everyone thought that the Avatar would fail in defeating the Fire Lord….that is….everyone in the fire nation obviously. The Gaang felt weary and now worried if the upcoming event would come to such result.
After a long day of watching a painfully butchered play, the Gaang had finally exited the theater as they walked their way back to the beach house; their opinion about the play was obvious to the fact that they did not enjoy it, minus Toph... who seemed to enjoy only first part of the play. They felt to worn out to even care
Everything was quiet as they walked along the shoreline, the only noise to be heard being the waves lapping at the surface "that….wasn't a good play" Zuko broke the silence, with Katara walking by his side as the others followed close behind him
Aang frowned at the thought of the play, as he had been already trying to forget the recent events "I'll say" he commented
Katara looked at the ocean with a frown on her face "no kidding" she added, looking up at Zuko
Suki who was by Sokka's side with his arm around her shoulder arched her eyebrow "horrible" was the only thing she had to say about the play
Toph wrapped her arms at her sides and scoffed "you said it" she replied
Sokka being the last to comment didn't speak of the horrendous work of the play "but the affects were decent" he commented waving his arm out matter of factly as few nodded their head in agreement.