Disclaimer: Bryke and Nickelodeon own Avatar. I don't.

Solace: An Extra "EIP" Scene

By Abby Brickler

***

When they returned to the old Ember Island summer home after seeing that horrible, embarrassing, propagandistic travesty of a play, Katara just wanted to be alone. Why had she even agreed to go in the first place? It was a waste of time, and now she was all upset. She hadn't she just stayed behind?

But if she was entirely honest with herself, it wasn't the stupid play—it was the intermission. How could Aang have treated her that way? She wasn't his girlfriend—she never said she was! What right did he think he had to keep kissing her like that without her permission? How could he be so disrespectful of her?

Zuko started a campfire for them all, and they seated themselves around it—except for Katara, who remained standing.

"Aren't you going to sit with us, Katara?" asked Suki, looking concerned.

"No," Katara replied. "No offense, but I just don't feel like it."

"Oh—okay," said Suki sadly. "Well—come back if you change your mind."

"Okay," said Katara, but she turned around and left all the same.

Zuko looked more concerned than Suki did. It hurt him to see Katara so upset. Something was obviously really bothering her.

Katara met Zuko's gaze for a moment, and, in that moment, she considered staying, but knew she couldn't because Aang was there. She stared at the ground for a moment, then turned around and walked away.

It wasn't long before she heard footsteps behind her. She didn't feel like getting up to see who it was. Actually—she preferred to just sit there and ignore them. She was pretty sure she knew who it was.

Then—

"Katara?" said the voice of the Avatar.

Yes—she'd guessed correctly.

"I have nothing to say to you," Katara said without turning around.

"But I just want to talk," said Aang.

"Well, I don't!" Katara asserted, turning around to face him. "Again, I have nothing to say to you! Now please, just leave me alone."

To tell him he was to leave at that moment, she turned back around and didn't say another word.

Aang sighed. He knew she was signaling to him that the conversation was over.

He walked away, his head hung.

Katara folded her arms and stared into space. She sighed heavily, her mind rushing in anger.

How could he treat her that way?

Back at the campsite—

"Aang, could I talk to you alone?" Zuko asked sharply.

"Okay," Aang said, wondering what on earth Zuko's problem was.

Zuko got up and walked away a bit, then Aang followed him.

Sokka looked befuddled.

"What is with people lately?"

Before Suki could say anything, Toph spoke matter-of-factly.

"Snoozles, if you don't know, I'm not gonna tell you."

Zuko didn't know it, but he and Aang were in clear earshot of Katara, who listened closely as they argued.

"Aang, Katara's upset. And I think you know why. What did you say to her?"

"Nothing!"

"Really? Then why has she been avoiding you ever since the second act of that ridiculous play? She really cares about you. She wouldn't just completely ignore you unless she had a really good reason. What did you say?"

"That's none of your business, Zuko!"

"Well, I'm making it my business!"

There was a momentary pause as they both glared at each other.

Then—

"You know," said Zuko, "I think I know what this is about!"

"Okay, then what is it about?"

"You took that idiotic play personally!"

"We all did!"

"I'm not talking about the propaganda, Aang! I'm talking about—well—all the romantic stuff they put in it!"

He paused for a moment, desperately hoping it was too dark for Aang to see that he was blushing deeply.

"They depicted you and Katara's relationship in a way that you didn't like! They portrayed her as not returning your feelings, and—"

"How do you know how I feel about Katara?"

"Oh, well, maybe because you're blatantly obvious! And you know, instead of going off on her about not feeling the same way—"

"I didn't go off on her—"

"Let me finish! Instead of going off on her about not feeling the same way, why don't you thank her for everything she does for you? Why not let her know that you appreciate her every once in a while? Have you ever just talked to her? Bothered to find out what this war has put her through? Have you ever reached out to her at all? Or are you unable to see that she's taken it upon herself to be the backbone of our group because you're too preoccupied with trying to make her your girlfriend?"

"Look, Zuko, I know what I did this evening was wrong, okay? I don't need you telling me that!"

"Don't you? Listen, I spent years being selfish. Don't think I can't see selfishness in others when its there."

"Air Spirits, I get it, Zuko! I'm sorry!"

"Don't say that to me. I'm not the one you upset."

With that, he turned and began to walk away, thinking of turning in for the night and using Appa's tail as a mattress. Suddenly, ahead of him, he saw the silhouette of someone sitting down: Katara. Zuko felt himself blushing again, and his heart began to beat a little faster.

Katara heard footsteps behind her. Not again…

"Leave me alone, Aang!" she said.

"It's okay, Katara. It's just me—Zuko."

Katara turned around and got to her feet.

There was a short pause as they looked at each other. Zuko hoped she couldn't tell he was blushing. She was just so beautiful and selfless and loving and compassionate…

After they returned from their ninja mission, he began to understand exactly why he wanted to make up for betraying her; why he cared so much what she thought of him; why he wanted her to have closure about her mother; why he was grateful to her for grabbing his hands and pulling him onto Appa's back with her and the others—for saving his life; why he had to shield her from falling rocks; why it felt so good to embrace her; why she was the only person aside from his uncle who was allowed to touch his scar. And by now, he understood perfectly. And the fact that he'd never felt that way about anyone before made it both scary and wonderful.

"You're—you're partially right, you know," said Katara. "About what you said to Aang."

A pang of guilt stabbed Zuko.

"You heard us arguing, then. I'm sorry, Katara. I should have stayed out of it. I should have just let you handle it."

"No—it's all right. I'm so upset with Aang right now that I can't even look at him. And like I said—you're partially right. Aang never asked me what the war has put me through. He doesn't thank me…and he doesn't reach out to me, either. At least—not the way you do…"

Zuko didn't know what to say. Her words flattered him.

"It's okay," Katara said, correctly interpreting his silence. "You don't have to say anything. I just want you to know that I appreciate you having my back—for being here for me."

"I always will be," said Zuko.

Now Katara was the one who didn't now what to say.

"It's all right," said Zuko, reading her correctly. "Katara, what did Aang do to upset you?"

Katara sighed.

"Well—he has a crush on me. And I can't fault him for that. People can't help who they have feelings for. It just happens, you know?"

"Yeah…"

"But with Aang"—she sighed—"he's just being so selfish about it! During the intermission of that stupid play, he asked to talk to me. So we went out back, and he asked me if I 'meant what I said in there'."

Zuko was confused.

"Meant what?"

Katara sighed again, this time exasperatedly.

"He took the stupid play seriously! It's exactly like what you told him—they depicted our relationship in a way he didn't like. It wasn't what he wanted to see or hear, so he had to ask me about it."

"Then what happened?"

"I told him it's just a play and not real life, and he acted all relieved, and then he started pressuring me by asking me when we could be together, and I told him that I haven't been thinking about having a boyfriend because I have other priorities."

"That makes me so angry! Agni forbid you consider other things more important—like taking care of all of us and trying to your hardest to help make sure my father is defeated."

"Exactly! I'm sorry I'd rather be helping out and getting closure about my mother and fighting in the war…With everything I have going on, I don't have time to think about romance! I just—don't…"

"I understand. Then what happened?"

"I told him that this isn't the right time, meaning it isn't the right time for me to even think about a relationship, let alone be in one! But he took it to mean, it's not the right time for us to be together, so he said 'when is the right time?' When, Zuko. Not if—when."

"What? Katara, what did you say to that?"

"I told him that I'm confused."

Even though he was talking with Katara to console her, Zuko couldn't help but feel hurt by those words. Confused? So she hadn't had time to figure out if she had platonic or romantic feelings for Aang? Was that what she meant? So she was totally sure about how she felt about Zuko himself?

Stop it, Zuko scolded himself internally. This isn't about you right now. This is about being there for Katara!

"And that's the truth," said Katara. "Like I said, I have more important things to do than sitting around, trying to figure out my love life…But you know, what he did after I told him that really says a lot."

She looked really upset now. Zuko was even more concerned.

"Katara, what did he do?"

"He kissed me."

"What?"

"I told him I'm confused, and instead of respecting my feelings, he gets right in my face and kisses me!"

"That is not fair!"

"No, it isn't! Why doesn't it matter how I feel?"

"It does matter!"

"Not to him. And did you notice in the scene with us—I mean, well—when they showed—"

She broke off, really hoping it was much too dark for Zuko to see that she was blushing.

Then—

"When they showed me falling in love with you—I mean, when they made it look like—well—"

"Yeah…"

"And when they had you say 'I thought you were the Avatar's girl'? Well, I glanced at Aang, and he nodded at that line! Zuko, I have never said I'm his girlfriend! And you know the day we invaded the Fire Nation? He kissed me without my permission then, too! Why is he being so possessive? Why is he acting like he owns me? Why don't my feelings matter? Why don't I have a say in this? It's like he thinks he's entitled to me…"

"Well, he isn't," said Zuko. "No one is entitled to anyone…Maybe—maybe he thinks that if he keeps kissing you, you'll fall in love with him…"

He hoped it wasn't showing on his face that the idea of Katara falling in love with Aang hurt him.

"Well, he's wrong," Katara said coldly.

She then went on without spite, "A few months ago—well…" She felt herself blushing again. "Things are different now—very different. I'm very different."

"I'm very different, too," Zuko said quietly.

"Yes," said Katara, her face getting a little hotter. "So—so yeah, a lot has changed for our group, so—so I'm confused…"

"I understand," said Zuko. "I'm so sorry, Katara. I hope Aang apologizes to you."

"It's not your fault. Thank you so much for listening to me…Actually—I have more to thank you for. First of all, thank you for helping me find my mother's killer. I feel more at east now that I've faced him. Losing my mother is the most difficult thing I've ever had to go through. And because of you, I have closure. I'll never get over losing her—but because of your help, because of you, it's easier for me to deal with my grief. In doing that for me, you helped me grieve. You were right beside me. I can't tell you how much that means to me. And before that, when your sister found us and attacked us—you protected me. You saved my life. Thank so much."

"You're welcome."

"And I want you to know that you can turn to me, as well."

With that, she stepped closer and embraced him, resting her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her. This embrace lasted longer than the one they shared on the dock.

***

THE END