A/N: *this is just a rewrite. Sorry, i've been neglecting this for a while, but i'm planning on starting it up again. Thanks for reading :)
Crash!
The lightning was electric blue and terrifying as it stretched its way toward her.
Crash!
The world seemed to slow down as her entire life disappeared into the dark behind her. Her slow heart beat was right in her ear.
Crash!
Suddenly, Zuko jumped in front of the blazing heat.
"Zuko, no!" she cried, but it was too late. The lightning made contact, and-
Crash!
Katara sat up with a start, her breath coming quickly, her forehead damp. She looked at her surroundings to find herself back in her room on Kyoshi Island where they had been for the past year since the war had ended. Suddenly, another splash came from outside her window. She abruptly sat up, her gaze going immediately out the window. There was someone with a hat masking his face leaning over their water trough.
Throwing on her usual warm-weather clothes, she ran to her door and flung it open. She flew down the hallway and out the front door to the outdoors of Kyoshi Island. She began approaching the stranger quickly. Before she could even see who it was, she bent some of the water from the trough and shot it at him in frozen splinters.
It pinned the stranger to the wooden fence directly behind him.
And then she registered the face. It was Zuko.
"Zuko? What are you doing here?" she asked, folding her arms.
He lifted his head and raised an eyebrow at her. "Well, it's nice to see you too, Katara."
She rolled her eyes, when suddenly, her eyes found a dark spot on the sleeve of his shirt. His shirt was slightly ripped.
"Zuko, your arm! It's hurt!" she cried.
He narrowed his eyes up at her. "Yea, no kidding," he said sarcastically.
She sighed, but released him from the wall. "Well, are you going to have that looked at, or just let it sit there and bleed?"
"Well, I was hoping maybe…" he trailed off.
"I would heal it?"
He looked up at her for a second, then shook his head, giving his face another splash.
"Well, it'll cost you," she said.
He stared at her for a moment, then shrugged. "Well, I wasn't planning on using that arm anyway," he said nonchalantly. "It's not the only reason I came here, anyway."
"Then why are you here?"
"I, um… I broke it off with Mai," he confessed.
"Really? Wow, I'm sorry. Why? Was she mad? I mean, I guess it's not really my place to pry, but-" she started.
"No, don't worry about it, it's fine. I don't think either of us were surprised. I should've seen it coming. Things were already getting difficult. But she was a little angry," he added.
"A little?" Katara asked sarcastically.
"Well, yeah. I eventually ended up telling her I felt like we needed to take a break from each other. And then-"
"And that's when she started throwing daggers at you?" she finished.
"Yeah…" he trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck.
Katara nodded. "Let me see your arm," she ordered.
"What?" Zuko asked, a little shocked.
"You heard me, let me see your arm," she repeated.
He shrugged, pulling up his sleeve to reveal his bloodied upper arm. Katara bent some water over it to clean it up, then let the water circle her hands. As soon as it had, she gently laid them both on his wound and within seconds, it had healed.
"Thanks," he murmured, seeming slightly shocked.
"You're welcome. Come on, you should probably tell the others what happened. I'm sure it won't surprise them either," Katara responded, turning and starting for the house.
Zuko had started to follow her, but stopped when she finished. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, nothing. It's just not really a shock you had problems with Mai. You seem the kind of guy that would have commitment issues," she said casually, turning and walking again.
"Well at least I look for something meaningful to commit to," he said from behind her. This made her stop and turn around again.
"And what do you mean by that?" she asked, her eyes narrow.
"Oh nothing. Besides the fact that you're only with Aang out of guilt," he said harshly.
"Oh, really? And how would you know?" she demanded, the anger rising steadily inside her.
He laughed dryly. "Because if you had even considered saying no, Aang would've committed suicide or something."
Katara scoffed. "No, Zuko. See, the concept I have with Aang is obviously something incredibly foreign to you. It's called trust."
"So that's all that's keeping you together?" he asked, unimpressed. "Trust? What, you trust each other not to lie and hide things? That's it? Because it's safe?"
Katara narrowed her eyes. "No, of course not. But it's a place to start. See, that's the difference between you and Aang. I can trust him."
He raised an eyebrow. "Funny, how you feel the need to compare me to your boyfriend," he noted, walking past Katara, leaving her standing there, too angry to even respond.
. . .
I'm not with Aang out of guilt. I'm not with Aang out of guilt. I'm not with Aang out of guilt.
But no matter how many times she repeated it, it didn't make her feel any better. Was it only trust? Or did she really actually feel something for him... or was it really guilt?
Katara hated to consider it, but when she thought about it, it made sense. To turn him down would've broken his heart… it was so much easier to just agree. But he was sweet and loving and he actually cared about her… but what she felt inside was more like feelings she had for a son…
"Katara?" Sokka's voice dragged her away from her thoughts.
She looked up to find him looking at her with concern. It took her a moment to realize they were all doing the same, sitting in the living room of their house.
"Oh, sorry, what was the question?"
"Are you okay?" Sokka reported warily.
"Oh… yeah I'm fine," she said hastily, sitting up in her chair.
He frowned, not quite convinced, but leaned back in his chair. "So, Zuko. What brings you around here?"
"Oh, you know, I was just… in the neighborhood…" he trailed off.
"Right. Now what's the real reason?" Sokka said.
"Oh, I just needed time away from Mai. You know, now that we aren't really together anymore…" he trailed off.
"Oh, no, you two broke up?" Suki asked, sounding devastated and heartbroken.
Zuko shrugged. "Yeah, but it's no big deal."
"Well, you're welcome to stay here as long as you like, buddy," Sokka said with a grin. "I didn't really like her anyway. She was always so grumpy, and-"
Zuko cleared his throat, cutting Sokka off."Thanks, guys. But I really can't stay for very long. I'm only going to stay as long as it takes for her to get all of her stuff out of the palace. If that's alright with you guys, of course."
Sokka shrugged. "Alright, whatever. Sounds cool."
Zuko smiled, looking relieved. "Thanks, it means a lot to me."
"Oh, don't mention it. You know how women can be," Sokka mused from his seat.
In response, all three girls shot him a look, even Toph.
Later that evening, everyone was done eating and getting ready for bed. Katara took a deep breath as she changed from her everyday Kyoshi clothes to just a simple black nightgown that hovered just above her knees beneath a deep blue robe that fell just a few inches short of the nightgown. She sat in front of her vanity mirror, combing her sopping wet hair.
He comes here and does nothing but cause trouble. In fact, I bet that's all he came here to do.
She sighed, getting up from the small stool in front of her mirror and silently making her way out of her bedroom, across the hall to the bedroom that was reserved for Zuko. Lucky for her, the hallway was empty.
He's here to do nothing but cause trouble. I'm sure of it, she thought as she knelt down, peering in through the crack in between the doors. What she found made her turn a bright shade of crimson.
Zuko was shirtless in the dim light, his back to the door. He turned, revealing a long line of pink scar tissue running down his torso from the very bottom of his collar bone to the bottom of his stomach. His very muscley stomach. He threw his shirt onto the bed and it fell into a clump.
Katara abruptly ripped her eyes away from the sight, shaking her head.
"Yep, I was right," she sighed, leaning against the door and sliding to the floor, "He is definitely going to be trouble."
Suddenly, to her horror, the door opened behind her.
"Katara?" said Zuko's voice as she struggled to regain her pose now that the door was non-existent behind her.
"Oh, Zuko? Is this your room? Wow, I didn't know this was your room," she said hastily, her voice about two octaves higher than usual. Standing up and slowly backing up towards her door, she continued, "I mean, if I had knownit was yourdoor, I wouldn't have stopped to…. Think, yes, that's it," she blurted without meaning to. Zuko raised a suspicious eyebrow at her. She took a deep breath, her voice returning back to normal. "Well, good night," she muttered, then entered her room and slammed the door shut.
"What an idiot," she scolded herself. She shook her head, then sat back down, once again running the brush through her long, dark hair.
What was wrong with her? She had seen Zuko shirtless before. Why was it so…different this time?
She shook her head dismissively, and decided to just go to bed.
That night, Katara didn't have any dreams, just words whizzing past her all night, like echoes.
Had to.
He would've been heartbroken.
It's so much easier….
Like a son…
Suddenly, there was a banging on Katara's door. She shot up, the noise pulling her from the depths of her nightmare. Once again, she found her forehead damp with sweat.
Ignoring the muscle pain in her back, she carefully pulled herself out of bed and dragged her tired feet over the floor.
"Katara, open the door!" Zuko shouted, knocking once again, when suddenly, a very disheveled-looking Katara pulled the door open, wearing nothing but the nightgown she was wearing last night. He raised an eyebrow, but her expression silenced any sarcastic remark he was about to make.
"What?" she seethed, but despite her negative attitude, she felt her cheeks start to get hot.
"Breakfast is ready. Everyone else is already up," he explained.
Her eyes widened. "What?" She was almost always the first one up.
"Yeah. Sokka wanted me to let you know," he said, turning around and walking down the hallway.
She shook her head, running her slender fingers through her now-dry hair. These nightmares had to end soon, or she was going to start falling apart.
She took a deep breath, then threw on some clothes, glancing in the mirror for a few seconds to pull her hair up into a mess ponytail. After she had finished, she sat observing herself. After a few minutes of turning this way and that, she sighed, then headed out the door for the kitchen.
She found everyone that had been in the house awake and at the table, even Momo. The seat next to Aang sat empty, and he looked at her expectantly.
With a sigh, she sat down, wincing as the muscles on her back cried out in pain.
Must've stretched it in my sleep…
"Are you feeling okay?" Aang asked, his voice concerned.
She smiled over at him. "Yes, I'm feeling fine. Thanks, though."
Aang smiled back at her before turning back to his breakfast.
"So Katara, did you sleep well?" Zuko asked, innocently enough from across the table.
For a second she just sat there, not answering. "Wouldn't you like to know," she finally spat out.
She got up and left the room.
"Katara, wait," she heard Zuko's voice say, hearing only confusion in it, but she ignored it.
She retreated to the one place she could think and be alone: her garden. There was a small, fertile patch of earth behind their house, and once she bought the necessary materials, she did it whenever she was bored, angry, or needed to think. She began to dig yet another set of new holes for a new kind of seed she had bought the other day, when suddenly, she felt something go up the back of her neck.
"Who's there?" she demanded, spinning around, wielding her garden spade to find… Zuko. Why was he everywhere?
"Oh, I tremble in fear at your almighty gardening skills," he said sarcastically, his eyes narrow, his face serious.
She rolled her eyes, sitting back down and tending to her seeds, her back to him. "What do you want Zuko?"
He sighed. "Why did you leave? All I did was ask a simple question."
She narrowed her eyes at him."Because you knew I didn't sleep well. Why did you ask that? Especially in front of Aang!"
"What? Katara, how was I supposed to know you didn't sleep well? It's like we can't be in the same room without you getting mad at me! I thought we were over this! Why are you so desperate to blame me for everything?" he demanded.
She scoffed, unable to come up with an answer. "Why do you think?"
"What, so was that whole 'Whale Tail Island' trip a lie, then? 'Oh, Zuko, I'm ready to forgive you now'," he said, his voice rising a few octaves in pitch, mocking Katara.
"Forgiving someone and trusting someone is two totally different things!" she cried.
He rolled his eyes. "Oh, is it really? Well excuse me for being too incompetent to understand that!"
"You're not excused!" she shouted at him. "Now get the hell out of my garden before I make you!"
She heard him sigh behind her. "Unfortunately, I need to ask a favor of you," he admitted.
"Do you, now?" she asked, standing up, and for once facing him.
"Yes, I do. I need a… healer for my sister…" he trailed off.
"Oh, you mean the one that tried to kill me less than a year ago?" she cried, throwing her hands up. "Sure Zuko, of course I'll go help her! Why wouldn't I?" she cried hysterically.
He rolled his eyes. "Please, Katara? Something is really wrong with her!" he pleaded, pausing. "…well wrong-er than it was before… And I was hoping maybe it could fix whatever was wrong with her before..."
"Name one reason I should," she said, her voice low, turning away from him with her arms folded.
"Because you owe me," he suddenly blurted.
She paused, her arms unfolding slowly in front of her.
He seemed to relax, knowing he had her. He pulled part of his shirt apart to reveal the scar on his chest from the lightning that had hit him when Azula had attacked Katara. "Yeah, remember this?"
She scoffed slightly. "Yeah, Azula did that too."
"Katara!" Zuko cried exasperatedly. He stared at her for a few more moments, then sighed. "Please, Katara. I need you," he pleaded softly.
She hated how disarming that sentence was. After meeting his gaze defiantly for a few moments, she sighed, looking away. "Fine. But I have to talk to Sokka first, alright?"
He sighed again, this time in relief. "Thank you."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," she said, stalking past him inside.
. . .
"You want to do what?" Sokka cried, practically foaming at the mouth.
"Sokka, just for a little while. I'll be fine," Katara assured him.
"You actually want to be within a fifty mile radius of Azula?" he demanded. "Katara, are you crazy?"
"Well…" she trailed off.
"Sokka, she'll be fine. She'll be with me," Zuko insisted delicately.
Sokka rolled his eyes, raking his fingers through his hair, pulling bits and pieces from the ponytail. "I'm not worried about you, Zuko! It's your deranged sister that's bothering me!"
Zuko frowned thought fully. "What if… What if Aang and Toph came?"
This made Sokka stop and think. "Well…fine. But if this is going to work, either Aang or Toph has to be with her at all times while she's near Azula if you aren't there. Got it?" he demanded, the foam returning around his mouth.
Zuko nodded, then looked over at the two he had mentioned. "Well, guys?"
Aang shrugged. "Sounds fun."
"What, you mean I get to spend weeks in an expensive palace, with lots of servants and breakable objects that my parents don't have to pay for?" Toph demanded, her expression growing excited. She grinned. "Sweet."