CH1: The Tea House
Katara sat before the massive monument with her eyes closed. A mild wind blew through the garden of the shrine, slightly broken apart by the many rows of statues that covered the ground. The sky was growing dark as fat, forbidding clouds of rain moved across the horizon and blocked the sun. She opened her eyes to gaze upon the statue of Aang that stood at the bottom of the massive spire. It was just the right size; the same height that he had been ten years ago, when he led the offensive on the Fire Lord.
She turned her gaze back to the ground and quietly whispered to herself as she began to cry. She had been here, near the Shrine of the Final Avatar, since its construction, and had visited it often. Today was the beginning of the tenth year since the day Fire Lord Ozai was vanquished. Ten years. The sound of those words echoed in her ears as her tears soaked the patch of ground before her, as they had done many times in the past.
The breeze blew through the garden again, and Katara wiped her eyes. She looked back at the statue, and followed the spire behind it up to its tip with her eyes. The very top was another statue of Aang; the fearsome image of the young boy as he was infused with the power of the Avatar state. Every detail of the statue was perfect; down to the eyes; they were worked out carefully by master artisans from the world over, as had the rest of the statues. The Avatar was gone. The echoes of his death had been felt around the world.
She rose to her feet softly and walked to the statue. Aang's frozen, smiling face stared out at her from its permanent fixture upon the spire. She bent down slowly and kissed the cold stone form on the cheek before turning and swiftly making her way away from the spire. Tears were welling up in her eyes again. She closed her eyes for a moment, and collided with Zuko.
"Wha-" Zuko had been admiring the statue of an ancient nameless Avatar. One born long ago from within the Fire Nation. He stepped back a half-step and looked down at Katara before embracing her. She buried her head in his chest and her tears dampened his shirt. He closed his eyes and stood silently as she cried. He ran his fingers over her hair as they stood in the silence of the shrine.
"I still miss him so much..." She spoke quietly as she wrapped her arms around him and shifted her head to the side so that it could rest on his chest.
"I regret not knowing him better." Zuko spoke in a hushed tone as he glanced over toward the spire. This was the way she preferred it; a sort of standard script for these moments. He didn't mind too much. The caretakers of the shrine were wrapping the countless Avatars in oilcloth shrouds to guard against the coming storm.
"... It's so strange, though. It feels like just yesterday that we were all together, traveling the world on Appa's back..." She looked up to Zuko's face, and smirked a little bit before continuing, "... and fighting with you, of course."
"Of course." Zuko smiled in return. He always loved it when Katara smiled, it made him feel like he was making a difference in her mood. The first clouds began moving in and drizzling over the grounds of the shrine, darkening the stone pathways and leaving a wet sheen over the benches.
"I'm glad you came with me." She gazed into his eyes for a few moments, still smiling. Zuko leaned forward a bit, and their lips connected in a kiss. As they kissed, the soft footsteps of one of the caretakers approached. The caretaker cleared his throat, causing the pair to pause and look in his direction.
"I'm sorry, Fire Lord Zuko, but could you and Lady Katara please do that elsewhere, outside of the shrine's grounds?" The caretaker stood strong; he didn't appear to enjoy throwing them out of the shrine, but this was the second time they had done this. They should have known better by now.
"... Certainly." Zuko turned to Katara, "Are you ready to go?"
"Yes... we can always return some other time." She took Zuko's hand in hers before leading the way out of the shrine. They passed rows upon rows of former avatars, each of which seemed to have its eyes fixed on them as they walked. Zuko felt a chill down his spine, but said nothing. This was the usual feeling he always seemed to have when walking through the shrine. But why not? Aang had once been with Katara, but not much could be done about that, since he passed on from this world.
They walked under the arch that denoted the exit from the shrine grounds. The rain slowly picked up speed, but this meant nothing, as Katara slowly worked with the falling water to keep it from drenching them. They walked in silence, accompanied by the sound of the rainfall through the capitol of the Southern Fire Nation.
The Southern Fire Nation was currently ruled by Zuko and a council of several other powerful benders appointed by the invasion forces and the indigenous residents of the area. Things had gone rather smoothly in recent years as this area had slowly consolidated itself into a proper power. Nothing had come from the Northern Fire Nation; the remnant from Ozai's rule, in five years. The North had turned into a hermit nation. Nothing left, and nothing dared enter.
The rain intensified and soaked the ground as the two passed shops and homes on the way to the palace. As they walked, other people greeted them on their route through the city. Cheery people, happy to be alive after the invasion, happy that they no longer had to fuel the war machine of a mighty nation. About halfway between the shrine and the palace, Katara pulled Zuko under the awning of a small tea house and kissed him on the cheek before stepping inside.
Zuko followed her in, obviously a bit uneasy as he stepped inside and looked around. Wooden chairs and tables were around for the customers. A young man was working inside, and the man Zuko assumed to be his father was in the back, making the tea. The scene felt oddly familiar and unnerving, but he didn't dwell on it for long. Katara sat at a table in a corner in the moments he had paused. After shaking the thoughts from his head, Zuko walked over to the table and had a seat, smiling weakly as he did so.
"You always liked the tea from smaller places; I figured we would stop here on the way back." Katara smiled, but Zuko remained uneasy. The other places he had tea from were normally manned solely by younger men, or entrepreneurs. He had seen the young man and his father here, and avoided it deliberately.
"Yes, but..." He paused as the young man came up to take their orders for the tea. Before the young man could ask, the young Fire Lord looked over him quickly before answering his question before it was asked; "I would like jasmine tea, please."
"Oh... yes, sir." The young man was startled by this, and turned to Katara, barely stammering out, "A... and what would you like?"
"The same, please." Katara nodded to the young man, who turned and walked quickly to the back, "Did you have to scare him like that?"
"Sorry, this place just feels... odd. Something is off here." He bowed his head a bit and looked down at the cracks in the table. He didn't know what to make of it, entirely, but the feeling was there. Something was missing.
"Is it because of your uncle?" She spoke quietly, reaching out and placing a hand on his. This seemed to settle her lover a bit, but he was still visibly disturbed.
"I think so... I haven't seen him since he escaped back in Ba Sing Se. He looked so... disappointed. The boy here and his father remind me of my uncle's tea house... back when we were still spending time together." He said his words quietly, and Katara leaned in closely so that she could better hear him. He looked toward the back of the shop for a few moments afterward, before his attention returned to the grooves in the wooden table before him.
"Oh... didn't you tell him your plan? About getting close to Azula?" She squeezed his hand a little, but he simply closed his eyes.
"I couldn't; if he knew, it wouldn't have worked as well. He would have stayed too close... I just wish I could see him again. Ten years... that's a long time to go without seeing the only surviving member of your family." He looked back up and into Katara's eyes for a moment before turningh is hand over to hold hers. His expression had changed from a slightly cheerful one to a more somber, saddened one.
"... He's still alive? And you haven't told him anything yet?" She couldn't keep this question quiet; her voice was slowly raising to normal, and by the end it was at the same volume as normal conversation.
"I... don't know if he's still alive; anything could have happened after he escaped his bout with me and my sister. I haven't heard anything about him or from him, and I have just now acquired the resources to try to locate him." He sighed after he spoke, licking his lips for a moment, "I hope he's still alive."
"He should be; he wasn't that old, and took good care of himself... I mean, Gran Gran is still alive, as is King Bumi. Your uncle should still be fine. He likely opened up a tea shop in some tiny Earth Nation town." It was her turn to cheer him up, and she knew the right words to say. It wasn't often that she had to brighten his mood; the young firebender had everything he'd ever wanted now, and was quite content with his position in the world. Only when matters turned to the fate of his uncle did anything seem to affect him negatively.
However, this didn't reassure him. He put on a small smile and nodded, but he let the conversation die at that point. He wanted to believe, but that meant that his uncle was deliberately avoiding him; something that he didn't want to admit. Both ways of looking at it felt wrong. If Uncle Iroh had died, then he had reason to be sad at the mention of his death. If he was still alive, then it was troubling for an entirely different reason.
"Your tea is getting cold." Katara stroked his wrist lightly, bringing him out of his contemplation on the subject. He sat up quickly, startled.
"How long was I like that?" Zuko glanced around the room; a few people had come in from the rain, and the tea shop was picking up in business. He hadn't noticed the tea's arrival, nor anything that had happened since the end of the discussion.
"Only a moment. It... didn't seem right to disturb you." She picked up her tea and sipped it to keep herself from saying anything that would be a bother. He had been out for much longer, in truth; closer to ten minutes, rather than the mere moment. Zuko didn't notice her lie; or if he did, he made nothing of it. He picked up his tea and held it gingerly in his hands. He looked at his obscured reflection in the dark liquid, calmly scanning the outline of his features for a hint at what made him different now. How had he changed?
Introspection aside, he flashed a weak smile at Katara, as if to persuade her that he was fine now, and out of his lost focus. She obviously didn't believe him, but that was an issue for another time; not in a public place, in front of the subjects over which he was supposed to rule. Katara returned the smile as he took his first sip of the tea. It had grown a bit cool, much below its proper serving temperature. Zuko paused for a moment and gazed over his cup at the people around the room, two of whom had been watching him for the past few minutes very intently. He gulped his tea down and set it on the table, turning his gaze back to the lovely young woman accompanying him.
"Can we go now?" He pushed his tea cup toward the center of the table and scooted away from it a touch.
"Of course." Katara finished her tea and did the same, before standing up and stepping out into the aisle in the middle of the shop. Zuko stood and took her hand, before escorting her out of the store. They stepped back out into the rainy street that had become covered in mud that flowed over the cobblestones. He kissed her on the cheek as they stepped out into the rain.
The rain intensified as they continued on their path to the palace. A young soldier, a member of the Southern Fire Nation army, jogged up to them as they neared the palace gates. Zuko took note of this and stopped before the eager young man could splash in the mud and cake his clothes further.
"Fire Lord Zuko, sir, our spies in the north have reported that they're beginning to gather their forces for an invasion. The others of the Council of Lords are already together in the war room, and they await your arrival, sir." The young soldier saluted during his quick rant, and fell into a coughing fit once he finished. The weather did not agree with him, and it showed.
"I see. Tell them I will be there momentarily." The young couple strode past the gates to the palace, toward an ornate outer garden. The young soldier watched them as they walked away with a confused look adorning his face, before he turned to walk back through the gates.
A/N: Figured I'd try my hand at a little fanfiction, as I'm currently a burnout when it comes to everything else. If there are any comments, criticism, or flames, bring it on. I'll try to answer as much of it as I can. I reckon I'll be keeping up with this, as I enjoyed writing this chapter. Don't keep any expectations, though.