A/N: And born out of Katara's hurt, anger, and ferocity is a simple, if not harmful, sort of trust. Because even though Zuko and Katara may not have had the right idea, they still did it, and together, and throughout the journey neither doubted the other, and peace was finally found at the end. And that's what's important, right?
Disclaimer: Belong to the Bryke, man.
Trust in the Time of Fury
"They don't get it!" spits Katara, stomping around her tent. Zuko sits in the corner, cross-legged, with his hands lightly placed on his knees. He looks peaceful, maybe even a bit confused. Katara, on the other hand, is furious.
"Aang's a monk, of course he'd want peace!" she mutters to herself, stomping around, and then sighs heavily, the gust of air having plenty of weight to it. Without a word she storms out and into the fresh air. Zuko waits several seconds with a pensive look on his face before following her outside. He doesn't think he should leave her alone when she's in this state.
He sees her nearly running to the cliff's edge, where she had confronted him earlier. He follows further behind until she stops, panting for breath, staring out at the ocean. Zuko waits behind her, silent.
"And Sokka—I don't get it!" She makes an odd noise of garbled words. "I mean, maybe I shouldn't have…" She falls silent. Zuko finally speaks.
"Hurt him like that?" He knows what she's thinking of: "Then you didn't love her like I did!" They both know it was harsh, but Katara hates admitting she's wrong.
"I mean, Sokka got to take Appa! How come I can't?" She ignores him. Fine.
Zuko shrugs, and then notices she's looking in the opposite direction, of course she can't see the gesture. He speaks, his voice raspy. "Maybe because Sokka was saving your father."
"Well I'm taking down the man that killed our mother!" Katara yells, spinning around to face Zuko with a livid expression. It scares him. He's never seen her with that look in her eyes. Zuko wonders if this is what he used to be like. "Isn't that the same? Isn't that better? I can't just let the man that took away my mother's life, her future, her—her everything, just walk around like a free man! He deserves jail, but of course he'll never be imprisoned." She whips back around and begins pacing.
Zuko feels like making an ill-timed joke. "If I become Fire Lord, I'll arrest him for you." But she'll probably only slap him or something so instead he stays silent.
"And why are you just following me around?" she hisses. "Go away! If you're not going to help me, don't bother!"
Zuko stares at her, unblinking. "I am going to help you," he says, echoing his words from earlier in the day. "I think you deserve the closure." He's not going to lie. He wants Katara to finally accept him. But that's really not the only reason he's doing this. Zuko wants her to find the man, to find either peace or regret. Zuko knows that he has had to make many, many mistakes to reach the place he is now. Maybe Katara has to do the same to get to the place she needs to be. Who is he to interfere? If Sokka or Toph or even Aang were asking the same, of course he would aid them. Of course he would.
"Well, fine." Katara turns around, tugs at her hair, falls to her knees and lets out an odd shriek of a noise, muffled by her hands, which she has clutched to her mouth. Zuko steps forward, worried about this odd display of anger, but then she slams the ground with a fist so suddenly, and Zuko sees an enormous wave lift and crash against the cliff face.
He takes a small step backward.
"So what are we going to do?" he asks, finally. Maybe the first time he's ever taken an order from someone.
Katara is silent, staring at the ground, her body a silhouette in the darkness. "… We'll go." Her words are quiet, but fierce. And Zuko nods, because he's not the leader of the gang, he's definitely not her friend. How is it his place to tell her that maybe it's not the best idea? Zuko sort of wishes he hadn't mentioned anything about the man, but how would she have reacted if she found out he had been hiding such pivotal information? The past was done, and now it is time to see what he can do about the present.
"I just… don't know." Zuko had been ready to agree, to say let's get ready, then, but her soft words stop him mid-utter. "If it's the right thing to do."
Zuko ponders her words, tries to channel some of Uncle Iroh into himself, and steps forward toward the girl. He kneels down on the ground a few feet away from her. Bends his head to try and see her eyes, but she refuses to look up, so he speaks anyway.
"It's not about right and wrong," he tells her. "It's a grey area. Out of anyone here, I would know that. It's about doing what you feel is necessary, or—" he halts, feels guilty for being selfish, "—or about what will make you feel better." He shrugs. "That's how it is to me, anyway." Doesn't sound very Uncle-like, he notices sadly.
Katara nods silently, and then suddenly stands up. Zuko follows suit, more slowly. "Yea," she finally agrees. She doesn't thank him, doesn't smile at him. Zuko can sense the fury radiating off of her and understands. "Good idea." And she walks swiftly away to get ready.
And Zuko wonders if this is what they should do. But Katara has been here longer than him, she seems to know what she wants, so Zuko follows after her silently, and the two prepare for a very personal battle.