Comfort in Fire
Zuko paced the hall outside the throne room. His uncle, the current Fire Lord, wasn't out of his meeting yet, and with every second wasted there was less time to contact one of his friends.
To top it all off Zuko couldn't pick which one of his friends he wanted to take on his journey. Aang would love to help anyway he could but Zuko knew the young avatar was busy with rebuilding the Earth Kingdom with Toph. That meant the earth-bender wasn't an option either. Sokka wouldn't want to be separated from the Kyoshi warrior for any lengthened period of time and Suki would feel the same way. Katara was- That's it! Katara was on her way here anyway so she wouldn't be hard to contact. Zuko felt excited about talking to the master water-bender, she might take up his offer.
At the exact moment of Zuko's silent epiphany, Iroh exited the meeting room. Being Zuko, he didn't notice Iroh's presence behind him because he was so caught up in his thoughts of how completely forgetful he is.
"Nephew, what's wrong?" Iroh asked. He chuckled slightly as the Prince jumped two feet in the air.
"Don't scare me like that, Uncle!" Zuko exclaimed indignantly.
"I'm very sorry, Prince Zuko. Did you have something to tell me?" Iroh asked. His nephew wouldn't be waiting outside the council room because he was bored.
Zuko took a deep breath, "I think I found a lead on mom."
"You did?" Iroh was very interested now; he missed Ursa as much as Zuko had.
"Yes, I believe she's somewhere near Mt. Masami," Zuko said. "I know there's a possibility she couldn't be there but I want to try."
Iroh nodded, he would go with his nephew but there was an unstable Nation to run. "Are you planning on brining anyone with you?"
Zuko nodded, "I was going to ask Katara when she got here but if she doesn't want to I'll go by myself."
"That reminds me, can you pick her up from port? She'll be arriving this evening," Iroh asked. He had forgotten to tell the young fire-bender about Katara's arrival.
"Tonight?" Zuko panicked, "Why didn't anyone tell me she was arriving tonight?!"
"Maybe you should get ready…" Iroh said.
Zuko didn't need to be told twice as he ran down the corridor to his room to put on civilian clothes. He hated going to the port in official Fire Nation robes, they were way too professional.
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Katara was on a Fire Nation ship heading towards Fire Nation shores. Ever since Iroh took the throne things have become a lot more peaceful.
She had come alone; no Aang, no Sokka, no anybody! It was the quietest experience of her life, and one of the most boring, but she didn't mind that part. Katara had a reason to be there alone. Aang was being a big jerk! He was neglecting his duties as the Avatar and it was all about him now! No matter what was going on Aang thought it was all about him, and if it wasn't then he would make it be about him. He had forgotten about Katara until he wanted something form her, which wasn't often.
Iroh welcomed her with open arms when she sent him a letter saying she wanted to visit. She needed to talk to both of the royal fire-benders. Katara hadn't talked to them in such a long time. She missed the two greatly.
"Lady Katara, we're nearing port. It would be best if you came on deck," the captain announced.
Katara nodded, "Thank you, Captain." This was another surprise; she didn't expect Iroh to send a ship for her. She knew he was generous and giving but the ship had been a humongous surprise.
As Katara made her way to the bow of the ship, with her bag over her shoulder, she smiled at the sight of the Fire Nation Capital's port. Katara put her bag down and started bending the water around the ship, making the ship go faster. Suddenly she was very eager to get to shore.
It only took a few minutes for Katara to bend the ship into port. As much as a surprise as the ship was, Zuko waiting for her at the dock was unexpected. She thought he'd be doing something else.
When Zuko caught sight of the blue eyed bender, his heart seemed to jump out of his chest. Pushing away the initial reaction, he gave a small wave and a huge smile. When Katara got off the boat she ran straight toward the fire-bender. Katara practically jumped on Zuko smothering him with a ginormous hug.
"Nice to see you too, Kat," Zuko chuckled. "How's my favorite water-bender?" Zuko hugged her as close as he could and lifted her a foot and a half off the ground.
Katara laughed, "I'm fine, Zuke. So, how's my favorite fire-bender?"
"I'm perfect," Zuko smiled taking her arm and leading her to the carriage.
Katara smiled right back and thought to her self, 'I could never have as much fun as I've had in a few minutes with Aang and Sokka here…' Katara bumped her hip with Zuko's, "When do I get to see The Dragon of the West?"
"For afternoon tea," Zuko replied. "I don't think I'll ever know why he loves that drink so much."
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Aang walked through the door of the apartment he shared with Katara. He walked into the kitchen and saw a piece of parchment on the table. It was a note from Katara.
Aang,
If you found this note that means I've left. I'm not sure if I'm coming back yet, only time will tell. I haven't told anyone where I'm going so I doubt they'll know.
You've been a jerk. You forgot about being the Avatar, you forgot about me, and most importantly you forgot how to be nice. This is goodbye, maybe even goodbye forever. I don't know what else I could've done.
Katara
Aang didn't want to believe Katara would leave him like that, she was much too loyal. He ran through the house searching for a sign, but there was nothing. Her clothes were gone, her valued possessions were gone, and some of the food was gone.
"No…" Aang dropped to his knees and punched the ground. He created craters that The Duke could sit comfortably in. "She can't be gone…"
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Zuko led Katara to the family dining room after putting her bags away in her room, which was covered in blues and whites. It reminded her of home, a place she hasn't been since finding Aang.
"I think I got us lost again…" Zuko murmured.
Katara tried to stifle her giggles, "Again? Don't you live here?"
"Just because I live here doesn't mean I can't forget a turn… or two," Zuko growled.
"Okay, where are we exactly?" Katara asked.
Zuko looked around at the tapestries, "We're near my mother's garden. That means the dining room is that way!"
Katara shook her head smiling at the Fire Prince. He was showing more emotion than he used to, or maybe he was just excited to see a familiar face that wasn't connected to boring meetings. "You seriously need a map, you know that?"
"Don't make me tell Uncle you're being mean," Zuko threatened. "Ah, here we are!"
"Welcome, Miss Katara," Iroh's rough voice rang out, "It has been a long time. I am so very sorry that I couldn't meet you at port myself, but being Fire Lord is most time consuming."
"It's fine, Iroh, Zuko was a pleasant surprise," Katara grinned at the aging man before her.
"Just a pleasant surprise?" Zuko raised a brow. "You practically knocked me over with that hug of yours!"
"Now, now, Nephew, no need to criticize hugging skills. And Miss Katara, how many times have I told you to call me "Uncle?'" Iroh asked.
"I've lost count, Uncle," Katara chuckled. "What about that tea?"
Iroh visibly brightened, "Zuko, are you sure we can't keep her? She loves tea and she makes this place much brighter. I did notice the little mood you were slipping into earlier, and I've already promised myself to keep you as happy as possible."
Zuko frowned, "I'm fine, Uncle Iroh, don't worry about me…"
"Whatever you say, Prince Zuko," the Fire Lord just continued pouring the tea. "I hope you don't mind jasmine tea, Miss Katara."
"It's one of my favorites," Katara smiled. She was watching Zuko out of the corner of her eye, so he was excited to see her.
"Good, good," Iroh commented in his rough voice.
Katara noticed for the second time that day that the old man's gravelly voice reminded her immensely of Zuko's. The only difference is that Zuko's is a silky rough, while Iroh's was an old man rough. At this moment she also realized that the young prince's voice was really sexy.
"Oh, Nephew, did you tell her about your recent discovery?" Iroh asked.
"Discovery?" Katara asked, suddenly interested.
"Yeah, I have a possible lead on my mom's location, and I was wondering if you'd like to help me find her…" Zuko trailed off. He was hoping she'd take his offer, he needed the emotional support.
Katara smiled sadly, "Of course I'll come with you, Zuke, who else is gonna keep you out of trouble?"
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"Toph would be jealous, I get two field trips with you and she didn't get one. If she ever find's out you're dead," Katara told him. They were standing outside her room.
"Well, she won't find out, will she, Katara?" Zuko hinted.
"Very funny, Sparky," Katara rolled her eyes and yawned.
"Thank you, Kat," Zuko smiled down at her tenderly. He kissed her forehead and whispered a goodnight, before turning away without letting her respond.