What Could Have Been

Zuko and Katara were both dreaming as they lay asleep, kingdoms apart from one another. And yet they were sharing the same visions. In their dream, they were in Ba Sing Se, imprisoned underneath the great Earth Kingdom city by Zuko's sister Azula. All around them were glowing green crystals, and Zuko was watching Katara with mixed feelings. He had not expected the Water Tribe girl to be there, and after everything that had happened to them both in the past, he wasn't too sure as to what he should do.

For her part, the young waterbender was watching the Prince of the Fire Nation with an open heart, and after exchanging several words, felt that he held a lot of grief within him. She found herself standing before him, studying the scar that had been blasted onto his face by his own father. She had the spirit water from the North Pole, and Katara desperately wanted to take that horrible mark away from him; desperately wanted to ease some of his pain.

Zuko closed his eyes as the girl reached out and gently touched the ruined side of his face, and a moment later he stooped down and pressed his lips against hers. Katara froze in surprise, but then found herself kissing him back. As she lifted her other hand to run her fingers through his messy brown hair, the pair could hear music, and the scene suddenly changed.

They were on Ember Island, walking through the playhouse. They were returning from the intermission during the play about their adventures with Avatar Aang, and as they made their way back to their balcony seats, Zuko sat himself down next to Katara. On his other side, Aang looked annoyed, but he begrudgingly sat down next to the Prince when it became clear that Zuko wasn't going to move.

Zuko smirked; the faintest hint of a smile. He glanced at Katara out of the corner of his amber coloured eyes, briefly admiring the way her Fire Nation clothes looked on her. She caught him looking, and as her face blushed, Katara gave a small smile in return. Zuko inched his fingers across until they bumped into hers, and then ever so gently intertwined them together.

On the stage, the actress Azula was casting lightening, and as the scene changed again, Zuko saw that blue blast coming straight for him as he darted out in front of Katara, saving her from his sister's attack. He had no time to properly redirect it, and the blast knocked him flying.

Katara saw him fall, and suddenly felt like she couldn't breathe. But then Azula was attacking her, and she had no more time to think. On the ground, Zuko was curled up in pain, and it seemed like a lifetime passed before he heard Katara call out his name. She rolled him over, and Zuko looked up into her tear-filled blue eyes as he felt her cooling water bathe his chest. In the background, chained up somewhere in the Fire Palace courtyard, he could hear the crazy shrieks of his sister, and yet Katara was all that he could see; all that he wanted to see.

Katara worked on his damaged chest with her water, and when it became clear that he was in no more danger, she breathed a sigh of relief, before wrapping her arms around the Prince. He smelled like smoke, and Katara buried her face in it, whispering into his ear. Zuko gripped her tight, and the pair lay in the Palace courtyard for a long moment, neither one wanting to pull away from the other.

The scene changed again, and this time it wasn't a vision of what might have happened in the past, but a vision of a future that they had completely missed out on. In it, Zuko was the new Fire Lord, and seated next to him was the beautiful Katara. It was the happiest day of his life; the day that he had married the Water Tribe girl. Katara reached out and took his hand, smiling at him with so much warmth and love that Zuko almost felt undeserving of such affection.

As he took her hand, they stepped out onto a balcony overlooking the Fire Nation, and Zuko realised that they were much older now. They were middle-aged adults, and the war-mongering Fire Nation was finally a peaceful and happy place to live. Katara was by his side, and his whole world seemed perfect …

Zuko awoke from his dream and sighed, sitting up in bed. Next to him, Mai grumbled but didn't wake up. He smiled as he looked down at her, gently running his fingers across her dark hair. He loved Mai; a fact that many people didn't seem to get, and yet despite her moody quirks, and his fiery temper, they just seemed to understand each other in a way that no one else could. Zuko would never regret marrying her, and yet Katara's face was haunting his mind, and Zuko sighed once again as he slipped out of bed.

Despite their relationship being built upon hatred, and finally melting into friendship, Zuko had always felt that they had shared a connection that went deeper than that. They were opposite elements, and their relationship had been filled with all of the fire and fury that the two conflicting forces could muster; yet it was a force of passion that seemed more real and more exciting than the happy, peaceful life that he now shared with Mai. A part of him deeply missed Katara, and always would.

On the other side of the world, the waterbender awoke from her dream with a groan, and rolling over, she found the bed next to her empty. Sitting up, she saw the silhouette of her husband Aang perched on the balcony, meditating to the rising sun. She smiled at him, and yet it was a smile tinged with sadness.

Katara loved Aang; she had never doubted that. And although she had felt many things – with many different names – for Zuko, love was not one of the things that she had ever admitted to. Not whilst awake, at least. However she couldn't deny that the firebender had grown on her, and that a part of her heart deeply cared for him. She had been one of the first people to give Zuko a chance, underneath the city of Ba Sing Se, and although he had chosen wrong at that particular point, she had forgiven him for it later on, and had fought by his side against his sister. She had cried when he had been injured, and had desperately healed him with all of the power that she could muster, not wanting to lose him.

But it didn't matter now. Both Zuko and Katara had chosen their paths in life, and yet someone else was still keeping an eye on them. Yume, the Spirit of the Dream World, watched on as the young Fire Lord and the wife of the Avatar began their new day. Although they had chosen paths with different people, a part of their hearts still belonged to each other, and always would. Although in the waking world their lives had turned out very differently, in the land of dreams, Yume could still let them experience the moments in life that they had let slip by, and the future of a life that could have been.

The End

Author's Note – So, I've spent the last four days marathoning all three series of Avatar, rediscovering my love for it. And yes, I'm a ZukoxKatara shipper. Although I do like the canon couples, I felt that these two really did miss each other somewhere along the way, so I was inspired to write this little piece. I hope you all liked it, and please leave a review!