I think Katara and Azula would be friends if they weren't in that situation that they were in (in the show). Just saying.
Here's a (not so) short one-shot for you! It's AU, by the way.
P.S. I don't own A:tLA or any of the characters
The five-year-old, petite girl clung on to her mother like her life depended on it.
"Mo...mommy...don't...don't leave!" she sobbed, tears streaming down her face. Her shoulder-length black hair was tousled and wet with her tears.
"It's alright, my princess, I'll be back, okay? Mommy'll be back in a few hours," her mother whispered softly to her before attempting to set her on the ground. She lifted her legs, refusing to set foot on the ground. Ursa sighed and picked her daughter up again, cradling her.
"Come on, you're a big girl now, aren't you? Mommy'll be back soon," Ursa crouched again, coaxing her to stand on her own.
"Pwomise?" the girl asked, wiping away her tears.
"Pinky promise," her mother locked pinkies with her daughter.
"She'll come back; they always do," a soft, yet bold voice spoke from the girl's right. The little girl turned at the voice, her mother's leaving temporarily forgotten.
"Rweally?" the girl sobbed again, and finding that the voice came from a girl her own age, she quickly hid her sobs, embarrassed for making a scene.
"I'll see you later, darling!" Ursa yelled from the courtyard, obviously making a quick escape while her daughter was distracted. Her daughter glanced up at her mother, panic in her eyes, but she thought of the girl's words again and decided to trust her. Mother will be back, won't she? She did pinky promise. Pinky promises were never broken.
"What's your name?" The same calm voice asked. The girl turned to look straight at her.
She had flowing, wavy brown hair that went halfway down her back, and deep blue eyes, so big that the girl was sure that there was no way this girl was human. She had never seen blue eyes before. She studied the other girl curiously. She was wearing a light blue frock, spread out at the waist, and was smiling warmly at her. She smiled back, deciding that she liked this girl.
Meanwhile, the other girl had also done her little observation of the new girl. She had black hair, not uncommon, but there hadn't been any one with black hair from her neighborhood. She had sharp amber eyes that would have been scary, if they weren't filled with tears. She wore a silky red skirt and a black shirt that looked very pretty. In that instant, she realized that this girl was worthy of being a friend.
"Azula," the first girl replied with a grin.
"I'm Katara," the second, dressed in blue, mirrored the smile.
"Play with me?" Katara asked, gesturing to the building blocks on the floor. Azula nodded eagerly, all previous worry of her mother leaving her gone.
And when her mother came to pick her up, she didn't want to leave.
"Hey, Azula?" Katara asked. She was sprawled on Azula's bed, her head hanging off the bed, upside-down, and her hair rushing to the floor like a pretty, brown waterfall.
"Hmm?" Azula replied, looking up from where she was lying on the floor, doodling in her sketchbook.
"Are we best friends?" the seven-year-old asked, doubtful and worried.
"Of course," Azula replied. "Why would you ask?"
"I dunno," the girl shrugged. "Best friends forever?" she asked again, seeking assurance.
"Forever," Azula agreed, returning to her drawing.
The two nine-year-olds rolled in the grass, laughing their hearts out.
"That was funny," Azula spluttered between giggles.
"Mmhm. Did you see Zuko's face? And Sokka was sooooo angry," Katara shook with laughter.
"Splash!" Azula mimicked the sound of the boys falling into the lake. "Argh! Azula! Kat-blubblubblub..."
The two girls resumed their laughter until their stomachs aches and their eyes watered. Only then did they start to calm down, only to have one girl laugh again and the other follow suit. When their laughter finally subsided, Azula sat up, gazing at the daisy field in front of them, while Katara clutched at her belly, aching from the hard laugh. Both girls still had silly grins on their faces.
"Hey, Tara, look!" Azula pointed to the daisy field. Katara pushed herself up into a sitting position and followed the direction of Azula's finger.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Katara asked excitedly.
"Friendship bracelets!" Both girls chimed together, and in a sudden, unspoken command, the two girls sprung to their feet and raced to the field.
When the adults finally found them later, the two girls were giddy with excitement and exhilaration, their clothes crumpled, their hair tangled and full of daisies. On each of their wrists sat a perfect daisy bracelet.
"I hate Math!" Azula yelled in frustration, slamming her pencil onto the table. Katara jumped a little in shock.
"Why? Math is fun," Katara replied, raising an eyebrow.
"It's hard, and all the numbers just float around my head. How are we, at eleven, supposed to know all this?" Azula whined.
"You tell me. I don't understand a word of this English homework. Oh, except for that word, 'the'," Katara joked, but Azula knew that she was serious about the homework bit. English had never been Katara's strong point.
"What if..." Azula gave Katara a small grin.
"We tutor each other?" Katara finished her sentence. After six years of knowing each other, the two always finished each others' sentences. Their brothers thought it annoying and weird.
"What are best friends for, right?" Azula smiled. They spent the rest of the day joking about fractions and grammar, but in the end they both learnt a lot from the other.
How else would Azula and Katara have gotten As for Math and English respectively?
"Tara has a crush on Je-et, Tara has a crush on Je-et," Azula sing-songed in the privacy of Katara's room.
"Shut up," Katara scowled, crossing her arms.
"You know it's true," Azula teased. Ever since she figured out that Katara like Jet, a boy in their class, she would constantly try to make them meet. Like making Katara sit with him on the bus that morning. She loved to see Katara's face turn red at the sight (or sometimes, thought) of him.
"Azula and Cha-an sitting in a tree, K-I-S-"
"Shut up!" Azula yelled at Katara, hitting her lightly with her book to cover the fact that her face was turning as red as Katara's had been earlier.
"What? You know it's true," Katara teased back, mimicking Azula's tone. She had the upper hand now.
"That doesn't hide the fact that you like Jet," Azula spat back.
Hakoda overheard their conversation from the corridor and shook his head, chuckling softly to himself. Thirteen-year-olds and their crushes...he thought.
Later, after Jet broke Katara's heart and Azula humiliated herself in front of Chan, both girls swore never to fall in love again. Little did they know...
At age fifteen, the two girls sat side by side on the beach. Their families were having a barbecue, just for the sake of it.
Their fathers were in a heated debate about the latest gadgets, while occasionally yelling at the boys when something on the grill was getting burnt. Their mothers were laughing at something or the other. Who knew what mothers talked about? But they seemed entertained by their conversation, nonetheless.
The two boys were fighting over the grill, cooking the food and maintaining the flame.
"Daad," Sokka whined. "Zuko put out the fire again."
"I did not. You did!" Zuko glared at Sokka. They then worked together, animatedly, to start the fire yet again.
The two girls laughed at their brothers' antics.
"Hey, Zula?" Katara started again. Azula couldn't remember how many times she had heard Katara start a conversation like that. It usually meant that Katara wanted to say something important.
Azula's silence meant that she was listening. Katara knew that. So she went on.
"It's been ten years since we met, you know. Ten whole years of being best friends!" Katara exclaimed, unbelieving.
Azula smiled at the memory of their meeting, of her crying and Katara reassuring her. She could see a similar smile on her friend's face.
"Hard to believe, isn't it?" Azula laughed. Katara just giggled and wiped away a tear. Azula sighed. Katara could get so emotional at times.
"I just wanted to thank you for-"
"being my best friend," Azula finished. Both girls shared a smile, and leaned in to hug the other.
"Hey, Zula?" Katara started again, breaking out of the embrace. "I was just thinking...maybe, in another life, we were enemies? And you were chasing me around the globe, and-"
Azula chuckled at Katara's imagination, dismissing the idea.
"As if."
Thanks for reading this far! Here's a cookie!
Oh, and please review! Tell me what you think. Thank you so much!
-PrincessWraven