first time publishing a story on so CC welcomed but no ship bashing if you don't mind
The re-visit to the western air temple was not quite what Katara ever expected, gone was the comfortable solitude and intimacy of friends and family, replaced by the flat solitude and isolation of Aang and hers "co-habitation", which was further replaced by the bustle of engineers and craftsmen rebuilding and making safe what they could. It had broken Aang's heart when the lead engineers (on loan from both the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom) had told him that one of the upside-down temples would have be removed, because it would never be safe for any number of people. Being the collaborative effort that it was, dignitaries from all nations would soon be attending the grand re-opening of one of the temples, and to the Avatar's growing dismay and frustration, the destruction of another.
The visitors from the Earth Kingdom and Northern Water Tribes were no-one that Katara knew, mostly bureaucrats with a few artists and scribes to record the event for the history books, but a heartfelt if somewhat typically cryptic letter that arrived from King Bumi was a welcome mood lift for the young Avatar.
The Southern Water Tribe contingent consisted of her own father, Pakku, Gran Gran and a few Fire Nation porters that Zuko had insisted assist them on the journey, not forgetting they surprise tag-alongs of Suki and Ty Lee, who were picked up on a port stop at Kyoshi. It was the Fire nation, and Katara smiled in pure delight and not a small amount of irony, that would bring most of her friends to visit, Toph was the new Earth Kingdom ambassador to the Fire Nation, her own brother who was studying, in his own words "just about everything" at the Fire capital university, Prince Iroh, having returned for a brief holiday to his homeland and Princess Ursa who had more or less attempted to adopt them all after she found out about how she brought Zuko back from the brink of death during the comet. Last but not least was future Fire Lady Mai who, to Katara's great delight, had also brought her own younger brother Tom Tom, and finally Zuko, Fire Lord Zuko……………..engaged Fire Lord Zuko………………platonic BFF no matter what snarky metal benders care to say about it NOT that it is any of their Tui and La damned business Fire Lord Zuko.
Confusion Lord Zuko was more like it.
Today was about more than the awkward friendship between her and the current Fire Lord though; today was a time to see her family, biological and beyond, as once the war was over Aang had immediately set to work on re-building the air nomads, alone, with her. That is to say finding new air nomads; Katara and Aang both still cringed if reminded of the one time Aang had tried to suggest the other way.
"I'm sorry Aang, it looks like there's no records of any survivors in this town either." The town record keeper had been a not unkind man who had suggested records kept over the hundred year war may have been dangerous to the air benders themselves if they got into the wrong hands so it was just as likely that no records meant they may have been hidden rather than certainly dead. It was a cold comfort at best.
"I know that!" he took a deep calming breath "I'm sorry Katara, it's just at the rate we're going I'm never going to even be able to train another air bender."
"We can't give up hope, we-" Katara paused, that play still left her self conscious about that, and she tried for a different approach "We've only been searching for three months."
Aang however had gone very still, and even months after the event Katara found that traitorous, guilty giggles would sometimes still bubble up whenever thought of what happened next.
"Y'know" Aang drawled "We could always-" he turned to face her and tried for what he hoped was a roguish grin and wink. "-Try and make some new ones."
Katara couldn't help it, she laughed, his voice was still higher pitched than hers, crumbs of fruit pie still stuck to his cheek (she fought the urge to wipe them off with a cloth), and due to her latest growth spurt she was now over a head taller than him, again, and he was trying a line that was so sleazy that she wasn't sure even Jet would have used it, Katara laughed so hard that her sides hurt and her eyes watered, and when she was done, Aang was gone.
He didn't come back for 11 days.
The re-fitted war airship…..or was that air warship?……drifted sidelong to the temple complex and crew quickly secured the craft and extended the gangway, and the first off the airship was Zuko himself; with aforementioned snarky earthbender clinging to his back.
"Giddyap ostrich horsy!" she pulled herself higher up and pointed forward.
"Door."
"Wha-" DONG "OW!"
"Don't wreck my airship, it's our ride home." He continued to walk across the gangplank straight towards her, arms wide to embrace her, Toph back pack and all.
"Katara! It's so good to see you, you never drop by anymore."
Katara didn't even try to make a clever comeback, she just sighed into the hug, it was one of the many guilty pleasures about Zuko to her, albeit one of the more innocent ones, Zuko was bigger than her and it was nice to feel hugged rather than hugging someone else for once, she felt protected, safe, warm……..and he smelled nice too.
It was in the instant the hug suddenly got very tight that Katara realized something was up.
"Toph!" whispered Zuko as loudly as he dared.
"Awwwww, but I missed Sugar Queen. Just enjoy the hug Sparky."
Toph had wrapped herself around both Zuko and Katara, pressing them tightly together from hips to shoulders, Katara could feel the full length of their bodies touching and molding to one another, and with mounting mortification she was beginning to realize just how happy Zuko was to see her, if the growing hardness between them was any indication.
"Uh……Katara, could you be convinced to ignore that please?" Katara just groaned and buried her face in his neck (which did nothing at all to help Zuko in trying to will himself under control) trying to hide the blush that was overtaking her whole face, and just as she thought it couldn't get worse Toph decided to intervene-
"GROUP HUG!!"
-and make it much worse.
Her entire visiting extended family was hugging, with her at the centre pressed bodily to Zuko as she had a rather insistent reminder that she wasn't the only one was having a har- having a difficult time with the concept of platonic.
