Sokka had always warned her about the adverse effects of alcohol. Which was why Katara could only picture her brother's face when she woke up in Zuko's arms the next morning.

It had all started with Iroh, and his novelty wine. "This," he said, proudly displaying a sample of the drink, "is a rare brew of rice wine, exclusively distilled in the mountains of Jiangwu. Nowhere will you find an alcohol as pure, or a flower as aromatic. What is special about this particular rice wine is that even though it is extremely concentrated, inebriation takes about an hour." Chuckling to himself, he poured the drinks.

Katara hesitated; she had never drank wine before, and wasn't sure she was ready. And how many times had Sokka told her never to drink? Eying her brother carefully, she realized he was the most eager of them all, grabbing the first glass for himself. Hmmph, the hypocrite. She followed suit, claiming one portion for herself. Before she would taste the liquid, however, thorough observation was necessary. First, she sloshed it around a few times, glaring at Sokka, who was sitting at a table with Suki. Next, Katara sniffed the container's fragrant contents, noticing that Toph and Aang had declined the offer and were examining Sokka's painting. Finally, she inspected the clear liquid, watching Zuko leave the room. She held her breath and took a small sip, savoring the cool liquid before it ran down her throat. Surprisingly, it tasted…good. She emptied her glass a few more times before bounding out of the room to find Zuko.

Katara found him looking at the view, a sight only accessible from the teashop's terrace. Despite the breathtaking landscape and spectacular sunset before him, Zuko didn't seem much interested.

"How do you feel?" she asked, concern mingled in her words.

Looking away from the rooftops, he asked, "What?"

"How do you feel, now that you finally have the honor you wanted all along?"

"I feel…torn," he answered, looking back to the city.

"…Why?"

"All this comes at the expense of losing my family. They weren't exactly loving people, but they were still my only family." He took another drink of his wine. Funny, his uncle had shared the wine in celebration, yet here he was, abusing it to drown out his emotions.

"But, you did the right thing. If you hadn't killed Azula, who knows what could've happened? The best thing you can do now is rule the Fire Nation well so her death wasn't in vain." An uneasy silence crept in between them, while Zuko helped himself to more of the alcohol.

"So is your chest feeling better?" she offered sheepishly. After all, it was on her behalf that he was injured.

"It's better, but a little stiff. Doesn't really hurt unless you touch it." He had downed his second shot and was reaching for his third when she stopped him. He turned to face her, his hand still tightly in Katara's grip. She turned a bit pink and quickly withdrew.

"Sorry," she mumbled, "it's just your wound might be affected by the alcohol and—"

"No, it's okay." He set the small cup down and fell back to watching the scenery.

The silence lasted for several minutes, as Katara stared off into the distance, the impact of this victory, this triumph, this ultimate end finally dawning on her. The voyage to the Northern Water Tribe, the time within Ba Sing Se's walls, the despairing journey to find Appa in the desert, and their days of hiding inside the Fire Nation; all the moments of their long odyssey came rushing back to her, as feelings of anxiety, relief, and closure welled up inside. The extent to which the war had affected all of their lives was amazing, and this wave of emotion left Katara contemplative, as she sorted through numerous what-ifs in her head.

"What do you think would have happened if—if you hadn't betrayed us that day? If you hadn't joined Azula's side in the catacombs?"

Almost startled by this sudden question, he replied, "I don't know. I suppose things would have turned out quite differently..."