Even after her talk with Aang, Katara had to be alone for a little while. Already have been tracked down at the dock, she had taken refuge in the thrush of trees nearby. For years, Katara fantasized about what would happen, down to the minute details, if she ever found herself face-to-face with her mother's murderer. Late at night, while waiting for the land of nod to whisk her away on midnight adventures, Katara would rehearse a speech to herself of what she would say if she ever had the opportunity. This habit started approximately a year after her mother's death, and continued on a nightly basis. Even as she was laying under the stars, Sokka, Aang, and Toph curled up nearby, creating a safe and warm atmosphere Katara had never before experienced, she would still finish her nightly ablutions with her ode to the killer.
When it finally comes time to execute a plan, it rarely goes right, especially for their little family. The moment Katara found herself face to face with the former captain of the Southern Raiders, all of her carefully planned words fled her mind. All that was left was anger. Rage consumed her, until all that was left was the need for vengeance. She wanted to see that man that killed her mother dead.
In the end, she couldn't do it. Katara knew that if she did end up killing him, she would have regretted it. Aang was right. Violence wasn't the answer. Surely, the amount of pain she feels now would be like a pinprick compared to the guilt that would have consumed her if she committed the act she so wanted to. She may not have killed that man, but she didn't forgive him.
He was more pathetic than she could have ever imagined. He had aged considerably in just a few years, and while as a child, he looked like a monstrous sort of man, now he just looked old and weak. Lying on the ground, pinned under the rain, the Southern Raider just seemed so small. Katara wanted to bring him down and make him suffer in the same way he made her, but seeing him, soaking wet and trembling, Katara was hit with a moment of clarity. He was already suffering.
A man, once with great power and responsibility in the Fire Nation had fallen to a life of poverty. He was old, frail, and afraid. Killing him would end his troubles. In the end, Katara left him suffering the only way she could – with his shame and the short remains of his pitiful life.
Katara would never know if she left a permanent impression. She would never know whether or not he would be plagued by the guilt of taking away a child's mother under false pretenses, but the more the waterbender thought about it, the less she cared. She had taken the higher road and let him live. She was proud of herself, and more importantly, Aang was proud of her. She would do whatever she could to keep her best friend smiling at her.
The sharp snap of a twig jolted Katara from her musings. Someone was coming. Slowly rising to her feet, she absorbed the water from the circle of grass surrounding her, ready to defend herself and her friends. The figure was almost on top of her, and with instinct, Katara threw her hands out, freezing her pursuer in place with a blast of ice.
"Katara, it's just me!" Katara's hands dropped in surprise when Zuko's voice croaked out of the figure, now encased in ice.
"Sorry," Katara called out, waving her arms to melt the water. "That should teach you to sneak up on a waterbender."
"I guess I should just be glad you didn't use bloodbending on me." Katara's face crumpled in shame. Zuko slowly walked forward, his hands raised in surrender. "Sorry, bad joke."
Katara huffed and turned away, not being able to look at Zuko's sympathetic eyes. "What do you want?"
"I feel like I should apologize," Zuko sat against a tree, still out of Katara's eyesight.
"For what?" Katara turned to face him, weary of his motives.
"For betraying your trust back in Ba Sing se."
"I already forgave you."
"You did, which is why it is even more important now that I apologize."
Katara paused in thought. She didn't quite know how to feel about this situation. While it was true she had forgiven Zuko for his mistakes of the past, she just didn't have the relationship with him as she did the others. There was no way to predict his next move. Finally, nodding in ascent, she took a seat near enough to Zuko to see and hear him, but not close enough for them to be in physical contact.
"I know I have a lot to apologize and make up for," Zuko started, his hands twisting together in nerves, "and I should just consider myself lucky that you forgave me at all, but I really am trying to make amends. I could try to make some excuse about how I was confused at the time, what with Azula promising me my home again, but in the end, it would only be an excuse." Zuko stopped to take a deep breath, as if continuing would be more arduous than taking on the Fire Lord himself.
"I know," Katara said softly, smiling at his sincerity.
"My uncle expected so much from me. He saw good in me when no one else did. He trusted me and believed in me, and I threw it in his face, just as I did to you." A few tears began to slip down Zuko's face uninvited. "I know I will probably never garner the forgiveness of my uncle, and I don't deserve it, but it means the world to me that you are letting me try again. I hope, that in time, you will consider us as friends."
Katara's soft expression exploded into a grin, and she slid over to his side, her shoulders barely brushing his. "We are friends."
Zuko gaped at Katara in surprise. She had already forgiven the banished prince, but never in his wildest dreams did he ever imagine that they would form a bond of friendship. His expression turned sheepish, and as he turned his face away from Katara's, she could have sworn there was a blush tinting his pallor.
Katara laughed to herself at Zuko's show of bravado in the face of emotions. Katara was used to men (and Toph) who would try to hide any expression that showed that they were emotional human beings like the rest of the world. The downfall to this was that these people that Katara loved would often end up hurt just by trying to act strong, but she had learned how to deal with and take care of them. Without knowing it, Zuko had already been accepted under Katara's wing.
The pair sat in comfortable silence, and Zuko stretched out his legs for comfort. Zuko did not know where to go from there. "So now what do we do?"
"Well, usually friends talk."
Zuko pondered over his thoughts about what exactly he could talk to Katara about. His past involvement with the Fire Nation was definitely off the table. He had just gotten on her good side, and he did not want to be demoted once again. The corner of his lips twitched into the barest of smiles as an idea struck the firebender. Zuko did not have much experience with friendship growing up, but ever since joining the avatar and his friends, he noticed one ritual all friends went through – they teased each other.
Zuko leaned back, preparing himself. "So what exactly is going on between you and Aang?"
As Katara began stuttering and her face became painted in red, Zuko knew he hit the nail on the head. Back when he was still chasing the avatar, he honestly thought the two of them were together. Once he joined the gang, he realized that wasn't so, but he wasn't blind to the looks the two shared, or the amount of tension in the air that everyone seemed to be aware of.
"What…there's nothing between Aang and I. Why? Did he say something?"
Zuko could not help it. He burst out laughing. Katara looked like she had swallowed a boar-q-pine. It was a nice change to have some levity in this time of war.
"Are you trying to tell me there is absolutely nothing going on?" Zuko raised his one remaining eyebrow, and even though he thought it impossible, Katara's blush deepened.
"We're not together, but I wouldn't say we're not NOT together." Katara ducked her head, her long hair obscuring her face. "It is just so confusing!"
"What happened?" Zuko inquired, genuinely curious.
"We kissed, back on the day of the Black Sun. He wasn't sure if he was going to come back." Zuko waited as Katara collected her thoughts. Just for now, he would forget about the war and give Katara all of her attention. It was the least he could do. "I know that Aang wants us to be together, and I'm not entirely opposed to the idea, it's just that…we're at war. We are fighting for our lives every day, and I don't know what is going to happen, to any of us."
Katara curled up on herself, and she looked so heartbroken for a relationship she perceived as doomed before it even started.
"Sokka already lost Yue at the North Pole. While I'm glad he has Suki now, who is to say it isn't going to happen again?" Tears welled up in Katara's eyes, and she angrily swiped them away. "The thought of losing Aang now is unbearable. If we became closer, and he didn't make it, I don't think I could go on."
It was in that moment that Zuko was reminded just how young Katara really was. He was reminded of his own sister, Azula. Back when they took the vacation to Ember Island along with Mai and Ty Lee, he had seen how nervous Azula had gotten around her crush. Azula didn't say anything and played her same brazen, malicious character that she always did, but Zuko could tell. She was his little sister, after all.
The other morning, they were under attack from the Fire Nation, forcing them to flee the Western Air Temple; when Zuko had seen Azula falling, his heart had stopped. Azula was evil. She was cruel. She was crazy. It would have made everyone's lives easier if she had just fallen to her death, but in that split second, when he thought she wasn't going to make it, he was terrified.
Even though that instant of fear lasted a split-second, it had felt like a lifetime. A flood of memories had invaded Zuko's mind. He remembered them as young children, and even as Azula's cruel ways shown through even in her youth, he still had fond memories of times they played together. Their father was always off doing important business for the current Fire Lord, their grandfather, and his mother, who while kind and generous, seemed to disappear frequently, as if trying to distance herself from her life in the Fire Nation capital. At times, it seemed like Azula was all Zuko had. It was when he saw her plummeting towards the Earth that Zuko realized he didn't want her to die.
Azula might be lost to Zuko forever, but he had another confused young girl before him who needed his help. An unexpected surge of affection welled up within Zuko, and he briefly wondered if this was how Sokka always felt when he looked upon Katara. If so, it was a large burden to bear.
"So then wait," Katara's head shot up in surprise at Zuko's words. "Aang is strong, and he is definitely going to win. That I am sure of. He had to win. Once he wins, and once threat of the war is over, then go to him."
"Zuko," Katara whispered, not sure what she wanted to say.
"You both have a future together. Everyone can see that. You two are going to have years together, and if you have to wait a little bit to make sure your future is more secure, then I think you should. Several weeks, in the grand scheme of things, isn't going to make much of a difference."
Katara let out a watery laugh, before throwing her arms around Zuko. Zuko sat stationary in shock. The last woman that had voluntarily touched him was Mai, and it was a very different sort of touching.
"Thanks," Katara spoke, releasing Zuko from her hold. "When did you get so smart?"
"I've had a bit of practice. Sometimes, people already know the answer, they just need a little bit of direction." Zuko replied, perhaps unconsciously channeling his uncle.
"It is times like this that I actually remember you are an older brother."
"Azula was never exactly the best little sister in the world, but you're not a bad substitute." Zuko nudged Katara's shoulder with his own, causing her to giggle. It was good to see her smile after such an emotionally trying day.
"I already have a big brother," Katara teased.
Zuko shrugs, "Who says you can't have two?"
They sat in a moment of silence, soaking in the serene ambience of the night. Zuko decided it was good to see Katara smile after such an emotionally trying day.
"You know what this means?" Katara asked with a sly smirk that Zuko knew meant she was up to no good.
"What?"
"You're now also Sokka's older brother."