A/N: A stupid plot bunny woke me up at 8AM this morning and forced me at gunpoint to write this one-shot. It was going to be a light-hearted short drabble, but ended up being this slightly angsty fic instead. Bastard bunnies.
Disclaimer: I don't own avatar. Please don't steal my plot bunnies. They are armed and extremely dangerous.
Rated T. Let me know if the rating should go up or down.
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Another explosion sounded around the camp. The group winced; not only at the tenth explosion of the day, but at the barrage of swearing that followed.
Aang had quickly caught on to firebending with Iroh as a teacher. The old man seemed to know exactly what to say and where to guide him. Now that the young Avatar had come close to mastering both waterbending and earthbending he found the discipline he had previously lacked in order to master firebending.
Zuko, unfortunately, had held the same initial reaction that Katara had at seeing Aang's ease with the lessons. The first day Aang was able to shoot a bolt of lightening into the sky was the last day Zuko seemed to have any grasp with the world around him.
Zuko blew himself up trying to form lightening all day until he literally passed out. He wouldn't eat and the others had started to wake up to his fitful cries during the small amount of sleep he would get before meditating with sun rise.
After a week of this behavior, even Sokka had begun to worry for the firebender's physical and mental health.
Once the swearing had stopped and the group had braced themselves for another explosion, Katara walked over and sat with Iroh, who was taking a midday break from lessons with Aang.
"Would you like a cup of tea, Katara? It's jasmine!" Iroh said, pushing a cup of tea into her hands without waiting for an answer.
Katara giggled a bit. "Thanks."
They all winced as another explosion rang through camp.
"Iroh, why can't Zuko bend lightening?" Katara asked quickly.
Iroh sighed; he then gave her a wise albeit lazy smile and began with the same speech he had given Zuko, when asked about bending lightening the first day he had woken up from Azula's attack.
"Lightning is a pure expression of firebending, without aggression. It is not fueled by rage or emotion the way other firebending is. To perform the technique requires peace of mind; which as you can clearly see, Zuko lacks." Iroh scoffed a bit at his own comment before continuing.
"There is energy all around us.The energy is both yin and yang; positive energy and negative energy. Only a select few firebenders can separate these energies. This creates an imbalance. The energy wants to restore balance and in a moment the positive and negative energy come crashing back together. You provide release and guidance, creating lightning.
I believe my nephew could be among these select few. He has the talent and spirit necessary, the only thing he lacks is a balance of positive and negative energy to begin with. Too many horrible things have happened to him in his young life. He has had very little positive experiences to measure with the negative ones; this is why he can only bend the red flame.
There is too much raw emotion and negative energy in his heart. When he is able to find some kind of positive experience to measure with his negative emotions, he will be able to achieve the peace of mind needed to bend lightening."
Katara's eyebrows creased at this information. She sent a worried and weary expression towards the sound of yet another explosion.
"What kind of experience do you think would be enough to give him a positive side to form the balance? Is there anything any of us can do to help?" Katara asked. Aang looked at Iroh with a hopeful expression while Sokka and Toph leaned in, attempting to feign indifference but listening intently.
Iroh quirked his head to the side slightly and gained a thoughtful expression. Was there anything they could do to help? He had been trying to help the boy with happiness ever since his exile. There was only so much a lively smiling old man bearing delicious tea could do.
The next explosion ringing through camp also set off an idea in Iroh's mind. He jerked back a little as if the explosion had been in his brain. Smiling broadly, Iroh gave Katara a sly look.
"Love is the most powerful and can be the most positive of experiences a person can have. Yes, it can be hurtful at times, but in the end if a person has truly loved then they have felt true happiness."
Everyone but Toph gave Iroh a strange confused expression wondering where he was going. Toph was naturally the most perceptive of the group, and quickly caught on to what the clever retired general was trying to do. She had noticed his attempts before Zuko had gone berserk, while the others seemed to remain oblivious to his intensions.
Toph knew that there was an attraction between Katara and Zuko. Every time they came within five feet of each other she had to restrain herself from putting her hands over her ears to block out their racing heartbeats.
She smirked and leaned back for the show.
"Love? But Zuko loves you doesn't he?"
Iroh smiled warmly at Katara's comment and chuckled a bit. "Yes, and I love him as a father would love a son. But for a young man at his age, that might not be enough. He needs the love of a young woman to rouse his...er...positive energies."
"Where are we going to find a young woman to do that?" Aang asked innocently.
Iroh looked Katara with a goofy expression and raised an eyebrow at her. Finally catching on to his intensions, she blushed. At his sister's blush Sokka also caught on.
"NO WAY! My sister isn't going anywhere near that exploding freak!" Sokka yelled.
They winced as another explosion sounded through camp, followed by a thud. They all relaxed a bit, knowing that Zuko had finally worn himself out. Sokka's relieved expression was replaced by a seething scowl as he stood up and stiffly walked towards the origin of the explosions. Aang followed him with a sad expression.
They returned carrying a haggard looking Zuko between them, setting him down on his bedroll. The two boys looked down at him and Sokka's expression changed again; this time to one of worry.
At first things had been rough between the two older boys, but after a while they had begun to treat each other in a more teasing brotherly way. Sokka had been almost close to admitting to himself that he liked having another male his age around. Aang was fun and he considered him a good friend, but where as Zuko was interested in fighting and hunting, Aang had been more interested in childish amusements and not killing things for dinner.
Iroh, Katara, and Toph joined them in standing around Zuko. Katara gasped at his appearance. He had dark rings under his eyes and looked starved. He had cuts and scrapes all over his body and Katara had to quickly grab some water in order to heal him in a few places where he was bleeding.
Sokka sighed and knelt by his sister. "Do you like him?" He asked in a quiet voice, not daring to say love.
Katara blushed and looked down at Zuko. She ran a glowing blue finger over his chapped lips, healing them. Her hand remained on his face as she cupped his cheek, fingers brushing against his scar.
Tears began to prick at the sides of her eyes as she stared down at the tortured youth. When she finally looked up to her brother she nodded.
Sokka sighed in resignation. His baby sister was growing up and if she was going to be with anyone, he would rather it be with someone who could protect her and love her with all his heart. If Zuko's determination when it came to firebending was any indication as to the passion he put into other aspects of his life, Sokka knew Katara would have someone she could be with forever.
He also knew Zuko would treat her right. The firebender always seemed to make sure in a roundabout way that she was happy. And when ever they ran into Azula it seemed to be a contest to see who could protect Katara the best without her knowing.
Now, the only problem was letting go of the thought that she was his baby sister. She was a young woman now, no longer the little sprite he used to take care of.
Sokka grumbled something that sounded oddly like approval before walking over to the other side of the fire and pouting. The others shared a wide grin before joining him by the fire for dinner.
That night, Katara woke up to Zuko's screams. He sat up forcefully on his bed roll and held his head in his hands. Katara quickly and quietly left her own bed roll and crawled over towards him. The others had also woken up, but tried to get back to sleep and leave the two to as much privacy as they could.
He started when he felt a cool hand on his shoulder. He dropped his hands and looked at the waterbender kneeling next to him. She gave him a small smile before falling into his lap and embracing him in a tight hug.
Zuko's eyes opened wide at the gesture and his body stiffened. Then he heard tiny sobs emitting from the young woman in his arms. Both his surprise and resolve to stay distant from the other members of the group crumbled at the sound. He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, pressing his face into her shoulder.
After what seemed like an eternity, Katara's sobs subsided and she pulled slightly away. The two teenagers stared into each other's eyes. "I can't stand to see you hurting like this," Katara whispered. The walls around Zuko's heart came crashing down at her tiny pleading voice. He was too tired to fight away his love for the girl in his arms any longer. He cupped her face in his hands before passionately pressing his lips to hers.
The next morning Zuko woke up to find Katara still wrapped tightly in his embrace. He smiled and kissed her on the forehead.
Someone broke his blissful daze by clearing his throat. Zuko looked up to see Sokka standing over them with his arms crossed and scowl on his face that didn't reach his eyes. There almost seemed to be an underlying amusement in his expression.
Slight amusement or not, Zuko quickly disengaged from the sleeping girl and turned bright red when he saw that the entire camp was already awake and smiling stupidly at him. He left Katara on his bed roll and sat down in front of the fire.
"Zuko, you are getting quite a late start today on your training. Usually you are up before the rest of us meditating." Iroh commented, taking a sip of his tea.
Zuko gave him a weary, distant look before saying quietly, "I think I'll take a break today. What's for breakfast?"
A collective held in breath was let out around the group. They knew Zuko had finally found his balance.
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A/N: Iroh's speal about how to bend lightening is from the episode "Bitter Work". I got the exact wording from avatarspirit dot net. The site is pretty awesome, they have episode transcripts.
The chapter following this isn't a chapter, it's an alternate ending. I had originally planned for this fic to be a very light hearted drabble but it went off in a completely different direction. The alternate ending is how I was originally going to write it.