The year was 105 A.G., and the wife of the Avatar, Katara, was in an uproar. Her husband, the Avatar, had finally reached a point in his life where he could stay at home and live in peace and luxury with his wife, but something seemed to be incredibly wrong with the young Avatar. His movements were shady and his actions were undertook with the same stealth as a child with his hand in the cookie jar, but Katara was not blind, nor was she foolish, so the question as to what Aang's problem was fell upon her to figure out.

She stormed through the large home in the Earth Kingdom capital of Ba Sing Se. It had been set up so that Aang could fly out and inspect progress on Republic City, the place Aang and Zuko had been so intent upon making a reality for a few years now. The project was coming along nicely, but still, Aang's behavior of late was highly suspect to say the least and Katara, fearing for the young couple's marriage, was afraid of the possibilities. They had only been married for a few months, but the stress that ate at Katara day to day seemed to gnaw through her and tear at the core of her being.

"Stupid… secretive… no good…"

"Your mail, m'lady," a servant said, bowing and holding out the daily mail for Katara to inspect. It was the usual stuff, requests for help and official notices, but still, she helped her husband by sorting through it all. She thanked the servant, who bowed his way out of the large manor and Katara took a seat at her husband's desk, sorting through the large pile of messages, letters and scrolls he was sent on the daily.

"Let's see, nope… nope, nope, nope…"

Katara sorted through the letters in a hurry, as she was awaiting correspondence from one of her longtime friends, Toph Bei Fong, whom had been busy teaching metal bending to the few students with the will necessary to conquer the refined aspect of earthbending. Katara could not remember the exact wording of the scroll she has sent out two weeks prior, but she had been checking the mail avidly every day in hopes of receiving a response from the renowned metalbender.

"Yes," she whispered, finding a fancy envelope stamped with the golden seal of the Bei Fongs. She tore it open and found a well written letter, likely taken down by one of Toph's helpers, as she was blind and unable to write, much less read.

Dear Katara,

I am sorry to hear about your concerns regarding Aang, but what the heck should I do about it?

Actually, leave that part out, I'll try to be a little nicer, I guess. No, I don't need your help, just shut up and write what I say, isn't that what I pay you to do? I swear, good help is hard to find nowadays. Now, Katara, I won't say too much, cause I know my dolt of an assistant has loose lips and will talk nonstop, but I think we should meet and talk about your problem in person. Bring whatever it is you found to support your argument with you, and maybe we can set something up. Let me know as soon as you get this. Hope you're ok, I'll be leaving in about ten minutes, I just gotta send out the some notices to my lazy, no good- I mean, to my students and then I'll head to Ba Sing Se. Try not to kill Twinkletoes until I get there, I know he's an idiot, but he's so ridiculously crazy about you, it's hard to see him as an unfaithful guy. I'll see you in about a couple weeks or so, as I plan on taking it easy, we did so much traveling back then that I hate it nowadays, I don't think my legs will ever be free of the aches and soreness.

Love you, and if you see any of the other idiots around, tell them I love them too… then punch them for me. All the best,

Toph Bei Fong

Taken down by a very underpaid individual, who didn't attend four years of writing classes to be called names by a metalbending tomboy.

"Oh, Toph is so gonna hear about this," Katara said with a little smile, thinking about all the names Toph's assistant would be called upon their employer's return.

'Toph will be here in about a month,' Katara thought to herself, thinking of everything that had happened, 'thank goodness.'

But a look at the envelope had it postmarked as the day after Katara had sent it, which meant Toph would be arriving any day now.

"Maybe it was just the assistant, or perhaps the mail was stalled," Katara said to herself as she read through the letter's contents again, smiling as she did. Somehow, the thought that Toph was coming made her feel better, it had been so long since she had last spoken with her friend and all the worrying about Aang had put her on edge. The damning evidence, coupled with Aang's sneaky behavior had made Katara more upset than she realized.

"Hey honey," said a cheerful voice, "anything special in the mail?"

"Lots of letters from people asking for help today," Katara said, slipping the note from Toph into her sleeve before standing and going over to the doorway, where her husband, Aang stood. He was fresh from his morning workout, and he smelled clean, though the strong scent of a hardworking man still clung to him. He smiled at Katara and hugged her close, kissing her softly as he walked with her to the desk to survey the pile of mail.

"Good haul today," Aang noted, "I'll have Quin go through it all for me, no doubt there are enough requests to keep me busy for days."

"Maybe you should take a break from all this work, I mean, you can't help everyone," Katara said, "and it's been so long since we've just sat together and talked and had some privacy, you know?"

"Well, I am the Avatar," Aang said slyly, "I'm a very important figure."

"Ok, Mister Ego, I see how it is," Katara teased.

"Well, if I didn't do my job, how could I expect anyone to respect me? I can't sit at home and do nothing, I'll get bored. I'll get handsy," Aang said seductively, rubbing his hands over Katara's shoulders and making her moan with pleasure as he massaged his wife.

"I don't have a problem with handsy," Katara managed, "but it would be nice if we could set aside some time for each other, you know? How about dinner tonight? I'll cook for you, whatever you want, sweetie."

"Aren't we a little old to be calling each other sweetie," Aang asked, raising an eyebrow.

"If I can't call you sweetie, I can come up with some other names," Katara said evilly, "you may not like them though."

"Well, only one way to find out, hit me with one."

"How about Guy-Who-Spends-Too-Much-Time-Away-From-His-Wife? Or maybe Mister I'll-Get-To-It-Later?"

"Wow, harsh," Aang said, plunking down at his desk and letting his wife sidle into his lap.

"The truth hurts," Katara said, "maybe if you actually spent some time with me instead of being all Avatar this and Avatar that…"

"Well, the truth does hurt, and believe it or not…"

Aang looked from side to side as if about to spill a great secret, and for a moment, Katara thought he might be about to explain his recent actions, and why Katara usually ended up waking up alone in their bed, but instead he leaned in close, and breathed in her ear.

"I'm the Avatar, it's my job to be all 'Avatar this and Avatar that.'"

"Harsh," Katara said, standing from Aang's lap and smirking at her husband, crossing her arms.

"Anyway, dinner actually sounds like a great idea, sweetie, just remember…"

"No sea prunes, I know, I know," Katara said, waving a hand, "go do whatever you need to do, I think I'll train for a while and then go to the Jasmine Dragon. I haven't seen Iroh for a while."

"He might not be there," Aang said seriously.

"Why not," Katara asked.

"Didn't I tell you? He managed to get his chain expanded to the Fire Nation! I think he might be in the Fire Nation now, but he might be back here in Ba Sing Se, seeing as this is where his company started."

"Either way, I'll check in and see. I'll tell him you say hello if he's there."

"Thanks sweetie."

Katara left her husband's study and once more took up to pacing the large, mansion like home they lived in. As soon as she turned her back on her husband, the smile dripped from her face like melting wax and was replaced by a look of sadness. It seemed she was doomed to spend her days in this awful cycle. Sure, it was nice not having to work, and it was nice always having the best of the best, but something made her miss the old days, back when they were fugitives. Sure, the fighting wasn't the very safe, and the stress was unhealthy, but they always managed to have so much fun, and the fighting kept them all fit and in shape. Katara poked her stomach, noting how it was not quite as flat and muscled as it once was. Slowly but surely, she found herself turning into a housewife.

"I will not go quietly into the night," Katara seethed, packing up several things she would use to work out. Her mat, several weights and her special waterskin, which was a dual ended waterskin that was worn like a backpack and could hold large amounts of water, and could be accessed quickly and easily.

She set up in the large sauna room and locked the door behind her before she stripped down to her cloth wrappings and glanced at her physique. It was more feminine than it used to be, with a little extra padding about her thighs, hips and buttocks, but for the most part she still retained her fit appearance, though it had slightly slipped during the years of peace they had made.

"Time to get back into it, Katara," she told herself as she began to stretch. It was hard work, and within moments her muscles were sore and screaming for her to stop. After so many years of relaxation and comfort, it seemed she was no longer as fluid and water like as she once was. With a scowl, Katara fought to complete her usual stretching routine, and was pleasantly surprised when she didn't end up pulling any muscles too far.

'I guess I still got it,' Katara thought as she began to bend the water from her pouches, slipping from stance to stance slowly. As she felt the muscles become supple and her memory of the stances returned, she began to flow through them more naturally, until she was moving so fast her hands and legs were a blur. The water seemed to become one with Katara's will and body as she was transported to her golden days, when she was unmatched in her bending. The water spun around her in slices that would sever limbs from a body before Katara pulled back all the water and used it to perform a large downward splash that would easily knock an opponent to the ground and render them stunned for a few moments.

With an over the head flourish, she spun around again, using the water to lift several stones from the sauna's fire into the air. She then pierced each one against the wall with shards of sharpened ice, which begun to melt fast in the heat of the sauna. After half an hour of hard bending, Katara was slumped in the seat of the hot bath, her muscles shaking and her body sweating profusely as she stretched where she sat. After another quick glance downward she noticed a huge difference in the shape of her body. Within thirty short minutes, she had brought her bending muscles back to life. The muscles that had gone largely unused since they had won the war were now rock hard and bulged from her limbs as if she had stones in her arms and legs. Her stomach was now flat and toned, having been vigorously stretched and compressed during Katara's workout. Of course, these changes were only temporary if she did not keep up the ritual of working out, but she decided that it was time she returned to her roots, besides, a little sweat was good for the soul, and when Katara was bending, all of her problems seemed so insignificant to her. After a few minutes of rest, she stood once again and did some basic waterbending, but going slowly so as to emphasize the stretches of the limbs as she wove the water about her form like a true master.

After fifteen minutes of light bending, she finished with some stretches before she found the wash closet, cleaned off the grime of physical exertion and dressed herself in her nicest kimono, the very same one she wore when she had first kissed Aang. It wasn't her color, as she usually preferred the blue of her native clothing, but it was such a stark contrast to her usual outfits that she decided to where it whenever she left the house for important matters. After she had dressed, applied light make up and a small dab of her favorite perfume, Katara looked in the mirror to make sure the ensemble was complete. She smiled happily before she once more remembered Aang's curious behavior, and the note she had found in his clothes a couple weeks back.

'I sure hope Toph can help,' Katara thought, 'but when will she get here? I'll have to stay on lookout, as Aang shouldn't know I asked for her to come here, and if he finds out he'll start asking questions.'

A breath steadied Katara racing heart, and she fixed a smile upon her face before she went about the manor, preparing for the journey ahead of her. It was quite a walk to the Jasmine Dragon, and she had no intention of taking one of the trolleys as she decided to try and keep herself in the best shape possible, she wasn't getting any younger, anyway.

"I'm leaving, Joo Dee," Katara called as she gripped the doorknob, "keep the house locked down while I'm gone!"

"Will do, miss," Joo Dee said happily, ushering Katara out of the house and handing her a shawl to wear.

Katara stepped outside to find it was not overly cold, but slightly brisk all the same. Even so, the cold didn't bother her, she was used to it, and with each chill breeze that ruffled her Kimono, she thought more and more of the Southern Water Tribe, where she had grown up. It seemed like forever ago she had lived in the tiny village, tending to the children, taking care of the things that only she could as the tribe's most able young woman. Then the war had happened, and though some of the details were rather blurry, it all sounded so farfetched whenever the story was told: a gang of teenagers that banded together to train the Avatar and stop the Fire Lord from taking over the world. If she hadn't actually been there, she might have thought whoever was telling the story was pulling her leg.

'And to think I only met Aang by a sliver of a chance, basically an impossibility,' Katara thought with a smile. Being married to the Avatar, to Aang, had been a dream come true, and their wedding night was amazing, probably the greatest of her life, but now here she was, walking alone in the streets of an enormous city, wondering if her husband was seeing another woman. Katara, in her paranoia, had labelled just about every woman in the city, no, in the world, a threat to their marriage. Crazy? Sure, but after all Katara had been through, she knew better than to second guess her gut instincts. Turns out Sokka had a kernel of knowledge in him after all… For the who knew how many-eth time, Katara ticked off a list of possibilities regarding possible adulterers. Lists, she found, brought her some peace.

'Joo Dee,' Katara thought, not sparing anyone for the sake of thoroughness, 'Toph, Onji, Mai, Azula, Ty Lee…'

And so Katara thought and thought, until just about every woman Aang had ever come into contact with was accounted for, each woman as unlikely as the next. And Katara didn't even want to consider the fact that Aang may be attracted to men, even though she couldn't rule it out entirely. The list more than doubled, and many of the choices for that list were… deeply disturbing to say the least.

Katara felt a shiver flow down her spine that had nothing to do with the cold as she traversed the twisting, winding path that lead through the city and towards the Jasmine Dragon. Perhaps Iroh would be of help to Katara, his advice was always sound and his judgements were usually spot on. Yes, the Dragon of the West would hopefully provide Katara with a modicum of comfort during these trying times. An hour of walking was behind Katara, and she felt her legs begin to turn sore from her workout earlier. Even with all the stretching in the world, there was simply no way to account for the body's reaction to a good hard session of physical exertion. Clouds began to cover the sun, and a chill dreariness took over as Katara came within viewing distance of the world renowned tea shop. She pulled her shawl tighter about her and made her way through the wonderful, expansive garden before the tea shop, which was so serene and peaceful that for a moment, all of Katara's worries faded. She made a mental note to ask Iroh who decorated and landscaped the garden of his shop before she stepped inside and was assaulted by a wave of warmth, relaxing music, and the smell of baking pastries.

"Hello miss," said the young man at the counter, "what can I get for you?"

"I'd like a cup of Jasmine Tea, please. Also, is Iroh around?"

"I'm afraid I don't know, ma'am," the youth said, "I am sort of new here, so I'm not familiar with Lord Iroh's whereabouts."

"Oh, he's here alright," said a soothing voice as a large, older man stepped out from behind the counter of his shop with a large smile, "I thought I heard a familiar voice, it is good to see you, Master Katara."

Iroh, the proprietor of the Jasmine Dragon gave a bow to the young waterbender and she reciprocated it in turn.

"It's wonderful to see you, Iroh. I was hoping you and I could talk over a cup of tea, if you are not overly busy," Katara said formally.

"I would be honored," Iroh said, stripping off his apron and handing it to the young man at the register.

"Please check the mint rolls in about ten minutes, if they are golden brown on the top pull them out and set them aside. I will show you how to frost them properly later," Iroh said kindly to the young man.

Iroh came out from behind the counter of his shop and held out an arm for Katara to take. Together, the two of them seemed to regally stride toward the private part of the store, which was usually reserved for parties but was now roped off and barren. Iroh lifted the rope and bowed Katara under it before following and guiding her out to the balcony, which looked out over the upper ring of Ba Sing Se, the same place that Katara and her friends had celebrated after the end of the war. Katara took a seat at a table for two on the balcony and Iroh sat with her. For a moment, there was silence, and then Katara noticed the old man's eyes upon her as he smiled.

"What is it, Iroh," Katara asked.

"Well, you just seem so grown up, now," Iroh said. "I feel old just looking at you… forgive me for saying it, but I still think of you all as the children you were, and seeing you as an adult really brings this old man into perspective."

"I don't mean to make you feel old," Katara said with a smile, "I came to ask you for advice."

"Well, shoot," Iroh said, reclining so he could listen to Katara in comfort, "I'm listening, and feel free to speak plainly, you know I don't care for all of that well-mannered nonsense. Not amongst my friends."

"Thanks. Now, my problem is… delicate. Very, very sensitive, and I need to be sure I can trust you to keep it a secret until I can be sure of the problem's existence."

"Of course, Katara, I would never bandy about important information. And I can sense how important this is to you, your beautiful smile faded as soon as you began to think speak of it," Iroh commented with a laugh.

Katara smiled weakly, Iroh had no idea as to how difficult this was for her… or perhaps he did. He was always so upbeat and kind, even when he had suffered so much more than most people knew. Katara admired the old General's spirit for that.

"Well, it's about my marriage," Katara said, "I fear Aang may be… dissatisfied with my company. I think he may be seeing someone else."

"That is a very serious accusation," Iroh said, sitting up, his eyes wide, "do you have any proof?"

"I have a note," Katara said, leaning in towards Iroh and sliding a crumpled piece of paper along the table for him to look at.

Iroh read the note and with each line, his brow furrowed more and more.

"This is either some sort of code, or there is more going on than meets the eye," Iroh commented, holding the note up to the light.

"I see no signs of invisible inks," he sniffed the parchment, "nor do I smell any chemicals to suggest any sort of espionage."

The General was nothing if not thorough, and when he held a flame as close as he could to the paper, Katara almost snatched it away from him, fearing he might set it ablaze. He extinguished the flame with a shake of his hand and peered at the note again. Before sliding it back to Katara.

"No, there are absolutely no traces of any sort of concealment. I tried every trick in the book, which brings me back to the original theory, either it is in code, or there is more going on than meets the eye," Iroh whispered, shaking his head, "where did you find this note. Upon Aang's person?"

"In his pocket, when I cleared up his clothes," Katara said, waving a hand and feeling as though she could cry.

"Hmm. At this time, I cannot make any assumptions, as I know so little, but if I were to give you any advice, it would be this: talk this out with Aang, listen to his side of the story, and then follow up with an investigation. Remember, innocent until proven guilty. If you overreact now, things can only escalate. Peace can only be achieved for those who strive to bring it about, whereas if you were to wave the note in his face and condemn him for a crime you have little to no proof he committed, then he might mistake your intent to resolve the situation for hostility. It is a vicious cycle, tread lightly Katara."

"But I am just so unsure, I mean, I thought he loved me," Katara said, feeling her eyes well up with hot, salty tears. She blinked them away furiously, wishing that she could find a better way to resolve the issue.

"Do not cry, Katara," Iroh said, "I may not know Aang like you do, but I will tell you this much, I have spoken with him about his love for you, years ago. The emotions he felt then were not ones that fade easily, I am sure that Aang still cares for you very deeply. Besides, he was so innocent growing up in the air temples that I doubt he even knows what adultery is. He's a good lad at heart, take care you do not exaggerate and accuse him of something he did not do."

"Thank you Iroh," Katara said, taking the note back from the old man and smiling.

"It is no problem to help someone in need," Iroh said, "I am glad to be of assistance, Zuko often came to me with his troubles, and now that he has grown into a self-confident man, I feel somewhat lost."

"I'm sure Zuko still needs you," Katara said sympathetically.

"That's what he says," Iroh said quietly, "he tells me that I should remain in the Fire Nation with him and take my place as his advisor. Of course, he actually wanted me to be the Fire Lord after his father was dethroned, but I refused. Being in that place takes me back to darker days. And yet, I still feel as if something is amiss."

Iroh's eyes dulled as he stared off into eternity, wondering what it was that was beckoning him so.

"Are you alright," Katara queried, extending a hand to grasp the old man's arm.

He snapped back to that moment and smiled, his amber eyes focusing intently upon the waterbender before him.

"I am fine, just tired is all. I sense my time here is coming to an end. I am no spring chickengoose, after all."

"You're… you're dying?"

"Dying? Who said anything about dying? No, if I'm right, the spirits have something different planned for me, they tease me with glimpses of the future, but it is bad luck to speak of such things, so I will simply say that I am not long for this world," Iroh said slyly, as if making a private joke.

Katara thanked Iroh for all of his help and shook his hand before standing, but before she could say goodbye, a commotion from within the tea shop was heard.

"I don't care if the old man is sick on his deathbed and crying tears of blood, I wanna see him now!"

"But-but"

The assistant from behind the counter shot through the door, dragged by his feet by some unseen force before he was dangled over the edge of the balcony. From within the confines of the tea shop came a light padding, and within seconds, a short, black haired girl appeared over the threshold of the doorway that led outside. She was dressed in an elegant green outfit that was baggy about the sleeves of the arms and the pants, with a large green and bronze belt around her waist. Her clothes were worn under an armor-like compilation of metal strips and her feet were bare. Her hair was done up in a large bun with a crescent shaped holder that was dotted with what appeared to be emeralds. Toph Bei Fong, the metalbending master, was dangling Iroh's assistant upside down over the edge of the balcony, his ankles bound with what looked like a solid bar of iron wrapped around them.

Toph held out a hand to hold the assistant where he was dangling before she stopped and looked to the side, where Iroh and Katara were standing.

"You guys want next or what," she grunted savagely, glaring in their direction with her opalescent eyes and holding out her other hand toward them, making several bars of metal shoot from her sleeve and levitate threateningly before Katara and Iroh.

"Even though I am sure it would do wonders on my incredibly sore back I must humbly decline," Iroh said with a smile.

"Yeah," Katara agreed, "what he said."

"Gramps," Toph asked, her eyes narrowing, "Sugar Queen?"

"Do you really need to call me that?"

"It is you," Toph said happily, withdrawing the metal from around the assistant's ankles with a flick of her wrist and letting him fall. Katara looked worried, but was pleasantly surprised to see he landed in a large, poofy bush with pink flower petals.

"It's so good to see you guys," Toph said, gripping both Iroh and Katara in grip that was as solid as the Earth itself.

"Likewise," Katara squeaked as Toph squeezed the air out of her lungs with one arm.

Hello all, this is a new fanfic I am writing, it is going to centralize around Aang, Katara, and their friends as they go about their lives after three years of peace. At the moment, Katara think's Aang may be seeing someone else, and a mysterious note seems to back that up, but with Toph's help, perhaps Katara can figure out the truth. Why has she been waking up by herself? Why is Aang never around? Something is going on, and she won't rest until she finds out what. In terms of age, I believe Aang is 18, Katara would be 21 and so on, but I'm not 100% sure on that.

Also, a great big thank you to Aleccha of deviantart for allowing me to use this picture as the cover image for my story! She is exceptionally talented and you guys should definitely check out her work! I am extremely lucky to have been able to get in touch with her, and to get her to consent to letting me use her art as the cover for my story.