Just a reminder I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of its characters blah blah blah… Go watch the series so you know what's mine and what isn't.

Any inaccuracies in terms of OOC moments and random bits of canon plot changing are my entire fault. Sometimes it's deliberate. Sometimes it's just me being a bit of a fail. Feel free to point them out if they bug you, and I'll tell you which they are.

Chapter rating: K

Old Beginnings

The celebrations were in full swing when Katara and Aang finally landed in Ba Sing Se. They had picked up Sokka, Suki and Ty Lee from Kyoshi Island, and they were all incredibly happy to see that all their friends had made it.

"Hey, look Aang. I wonder if they got the same guy who did the giant statue of you in Chin Village to do that" Sokka was pointing at a giant Avatar, towering above the square in front of the Royal Palace. Aang smiled at Sokka, as he jumped lightly off Appa's back, and turned to help Katara down. They were both stiff and formal as they interacted, which had not escaped Suki or Ty Lee on the journey here, but they ignored it and hoped that this was just one of those things. Suki knew that Katara and Aang had grown a little distant recently, but Katara had made it seem in her letters like it was just a little squabble, whereas this looked like an all-out fight. Suki shook her head and grabbed Sokka's hand, squeezing it a little and following after Aang to be reunited with everyone else.

This was the grand celebration that the Earth King had thrown as a celebration of a year of peace. Many found it difficult to believe that it had been a whole year since Sozin's comet, but the celebrations were in full swing. For a full day people were forgetting the famines, the wounded and the lost and simply celebrating that nothing more would be taken from them by war now that it was all over.

Waiting by the doors of the Earth Palace was a gaggle of kids. On the left, Teo and his father stood next to Duke on Pipsqueak's shoulder, Longshot and Smellerbee. On the right stood Haru and his father, along with what looked like half of the water tribe, including Hakoda, Kanna and Pakku. Sokka and Katara ran ahead of Aang and the others to greet their father and grandmother, while Aang walked at a stately pace to greet King Bumi and the Earth King. Beside the two kings stood Fire Lord Zuko and his uncle Iroh, who was talking animatedly to Toph. They all greeted one another, taking several minutes, and they were soon making their way down the halls of the earth palace together, catching up on months apart.

"And how are you, granddaughter? Still looking after the Avatar I see?" Kanna had been listening to Sokka talk about how wonderful Suki was for the last five minutes, and was curious about her granddaughter's silence. She thought that Katara was happy with the avatar, but her eyes now told her otherwise.

"Things with me and Aang are... Complicated at the moment. I'm sure it'll all be fine." Kanna gave Katara a sideways look, but said nothing more, sensing that this was a subject best left until they had a few moments of privacy together.

The throne room held a smaller party, similar to the one that they had crashed when they first came to Ba Sing Se. Bosco was standing in front of the throne platform and was dancing along to the music that filled the hall. Everywhere was colour, the symbols of all four nations adorning the drapes that were flung from column to column, and the people themselves all wearing fine robes in their nation's colour. Aang was the only one wearing the full orange of the Airbenders, but many people wore orange trimmings on their robes, or the women wore orange headpieces in honour of the Avatar.

The new arrivals were ushered into adjoining rooms to change, and were soon back in the midst of the party, greeting nobles and other high ranking officials in what seemed like an endless stream of people who wanted to shake the hand of those who had assisted the Avatar. Katara's head was soon whirring with names, and when she found herself alone at a buffet table, she almost sighed with relief at the prospect of being able to eat in peace. She was looking forward to the prospect of food after her long ride, and soon happily tasted every dish that was set out before her. This too was a kaleidoscope of colour and flavour, with famous dishes from all the corners of the world and all the nations brought together to celebrate the unity that the Avatar had brought.

Katara was enjoying her meal so much that she didn't notice the Firebender coming up behind her until he was almost breathing down her neck.

"You look lovely tonight Katara." She turned to see the smiling eyes of Iroh, reflecting the deep blue of her dress.

"So do you Iroh, I must say that purple really is your colour." Iroh was dressed in his full White Lotus robes, the lotus design on his belt picked out in gold embroidery that glittered in the firelight that filled the room.

"I have always thought that purple was an excellent colour. I think it would also suit you, my dear." He gave Katara a warm smile and she blushed, taking his offer of an arm as she was led away from the table and back into the centre of the party.

"I would like to wear purple, but tonight I am here representing my tribe, and I like blue just as much."

"Maybe one day you will find an occasion to wear it for me. I would like to one day have a dancing partner who I matched. It would be an interesting spectacle, don't you think?" Katara only smiled back, and was soon whisked back into the party. There was a strange twinkle in Iroh's eye, and he held Katara's arm for most of the rest of the night, steering her towards people who she got along with as often as possible, and for this Katara was exceedingly grateful. They whirled together for the whole night, and as the people finally began to make their apologies, Katara offered Iroh a dance on the swiftly emptying dance floor. They spun together for a few minutes, and as they spun, for a moment it seemed that the two became a single figure, dressed in a deep lilac that was both dark and alluring in the light that was swiftly dimming as the candles were extinguished by a small army of attendants, already beginning to tidy away all evidence of the evening's long festivities.

It was nearly dawn when Katara was finally led by an irate servant to the guest rooms that had been set aside for her. She flopped onto her bed, barely maintaining enough energy to kick her shoes off before drifting off into an exhausted slumber.


The next morning dawned cool and bright, and Katara woke late along with the rest of the palace. After changing her dress, she wandered the halls of the palace for a while before finding someone who could show her the way to the dining room, where she had been informed the night before that breakfast would be served all day, no matter how late everybody woke up. She arrived to find that Sokka, Suki, Aang and Iroh were already there, and as she walked in, she saw Zuko coming in the opposite door. Sokka, Suki and Katara all bowed to him as he entered, respectful of his position as Fire Lord, and he groaned at the gesture.

"Please. My head hurts far too much this morning to have an argument about the fact that you are my friends, and I don't like you bowing to me. In public, fine. At breakfast, no." And, cradling his head in his hand, he sat as the table alongside Iroh, grabbing half of a large stack of pancakes with his fingers and dumping them on his plate. Katara sat beside him on the only remaining chair at the table that Iroh and his early rising had bagsied, and they all ate in companionable silence, with the occasional astonished glance at the amount of food that Sokka was managing to eat all on his own. Other attendees of the party drifted in and out as they ate, and soon they had all finished and servants were taking away the empty food plates. Katara was about to leave and finish brushing her hair in anticipation of a day in the city with Toph, when Zuko put a hand on her arm.

"I'm going to a council this morning about rearranging the food distributions. You have seen more of the rest of the world than I have since the war, travelling with Aang, and I would value your contribution. Aang… doesn't see everything the way that you do." Zuko's face was serious as he tried not to give offence to the Avatar, but Katara smiled and nodded.

"I'd be more than happy to help Zuko. When is the meeting?"

"Um... in about ten minutes." Katara gasped and ran from the room, Zuko running after her and asking what was wrong.

"I need to brush my hair!"


The meeting had been going on for nearly an hour when Zuko finally let his temper get the better of him

"Look, the Fire Nation is more than happy to lend its fleets to the transportation of food, but we are struggling to feed ourselves without aid, and we simply cannot contribute anything. We are no longer taking any food from the earth kingdom colonies, and without that I have people in my nation starving. I will give you more ships, more men, even more money, but we need the food!" Zuko was standing with both fists resting on the table as he glared at the man across form him.

It was a senior advisor to the Earth King, Advisor Hipau, who was standing in after the earth king was 'taken ill' after the party the previous night. Katara couldn't help but feel sorry for King Kuei, who really was doing better at being an active king in his Nation, but still tended not to think through the consequences of his party habits.

"The Fire nation is responsible for the burning of hundreds of acres of farmland during Sozin's comet, and as such I feel that they should be giving up their food for us."

"We aren't going to get anywhere while everybody is still blaming the Fire nation for everything." Aang had spoken up to prevent a fight breaking out. "There is still plenty of food for everyone in the Earth Kingdom; it's just not being shared out fairly."

"We are doing our best, but there are still greedy people out there who won't share it around." King Bumi agreed with Aang.

"Avatar, you have been meeting with the Earth Kingdom people during the last months. Tell us, what do they think?" This was Zuko again

"Well…" Aang looked trapped, and so Katara spoke up instead.

"They feel like all they get is the leftovers from the food that comes here, to Ba Sing Se. Refugees are still pouring into the city, as they are convinced that here is where all the food is."

"But it isn't here. It's being spread out amongst the entire kingdom." Advisor Hipau argued passionately, but his ample stomach gave away how well he ate, and Katara had very fond memories of the feast last night. She wondered where all the leftovers had gone, if they had all been thrown away, of if the servants had taken then home. She wasn't left much time to wonder, as Zuko started speaking again.

"I will personally oversee the production and distribution of food in the coming months, but only if you do the same. Any spare I will be more than happy to send to the Earth Kingdom, but I can't make any promises."


"Why is the Earth Kingdom so damned stubborn?" raged Zuko once the Advisors and other Earth Kingdom officials had made their way out of the room. Katara gave him a look, at which Zuko simply waved his hands. "Ok, Ok, stupid question. But I really feel like there should be more of a 'forgive and forget' attitude about this whole thing." Another look, this time from his uncle and Zuko gave a loud sigh. "Not that I expect them to forget about a hundred years of war, but... I feel like they're taking advantage of my guilt." He stopped his pacing around the room and fell into an empty chair, the one recently vacated by Advisor Hipau. "I want to help, I really do, but I can't fix the Fire Nation and the rest of the world at the same time. Isn't that what the Avatar is supposed to do?"

Aang had been sitting quietly in the meeting since Katara had spoken. He continued to stare unseeing at his hands until he heard Zuko mention him, when he looked up at the room and caught the glances of everyone, even Toph was managing to make her blank eyes look interested.

"Yes. It is my job. And I'm trying."

"Nobody thinks that you're not doing your best Aang." Said Katara, shooting Zuko a deadly look. "But they all forget you're new to this whole Avatar thing. Two years ago you were still in the iceberg, and saving the world once in that time should be more than enough."

"It doesn't matter what should be enough, and how experienced or old I am Katara. I have a responsibility, and I intend to perform it." And with a rush of wind Aang stood and whisked his way out of the room. Katara ran to follow him, and was soon darting through the corridors in pursuit, following the fain whooshing sound that was made y Aang's airbending aided sprint. When he finally came to a stop, Katara walked up behind him slowly.

They were outside in a courtyard that was otherwise deserted. It had in it a pair of benches, facing each other between a patch of earth that was filled with low plants. The leaves of the plants were rustling from Aang's passage, and they slowly stilled as Katara approached him.

"Aang..."

"No Katara. You shouldn't have followed me. I don't need you to baby me any more. Being the Avatar is what I do, and you can't protect me from it any more. I think... I think I should carry on alone." Aang turned to look at Katara and her nonplussed face. He looked at her seriously for a moment and as her face fell her knees folded underneath her and she sat heavily on a bench.

"I know you're only trying to look out for me, but I can't have you speaking in my place, or doing everything for me. I thought that I wanted you to look out for me, but I want to look out for you, and you never let me do that. I need to learn how to do this on my own. I need to not depend on you, because how can I save everyone else if I can't even look after myself? Maybe... Maybe one day I'll be ready to do it alone and I'll still need you as more than my keeper. And then we can try again. But until that day, I need to find my own path."

Zuko found Katara in the courtyard nearly an hour later. She had obviously been crying, and the odd sniffle and tear still escaped her otherwise calm face. She was staring blankly at the ground, tugging absentmindedly on her sleeve, and didn't notice his approach until he sat down next to her. She jumped in surprise before stilling the last vestiges of sorrow on her face and looking up and smiling at him. Zuko wasn't fooled, however, and looked at Katara seriously.

"What happened?" His voice was deep and full of concern. "You didn't come back to the council chambers."

"It's nothing. Aang and I had a fight,"

"That doesn't sound like nothing."

"Well, no. It's not nothing. But I'll be fine." Katara's voice broke on the word fine and she began to cry again. Zuko held himself apart for a moment, unsure of exactly what to do with a weeping girl. Mai never did this sort of thing, she just held it all inside and then went and threw knives at unsuspecting servants. However, he soon found himself stiffly placing an arm over her shoulder and Katara took the opportunity to burrow her head into his chest. He froze, for a moment, before allowing himself to relax into the embrace and simply comfort her.

They sat like this for a long while, Katara enjoying the warmth that Zuko emitted, and Zuko simply enjoying the physical contact that was increasingly rare with his own girlfriend. The Firebender and Waterbender sat as friends, enjoying the simple companionship of each other's presence, and Katara's sobs receded to sniffles which receded to silence again. The courtyard was completely still, and they both subconsciously stilled their breathing until there was nothing to be heard at all.

There was another long pause before Zuko rustled and made to get up. They both stirred themselves to standing, and after a brief look at each other and a smile, they made their way back to where there were still people meeting, no need to exchange any more words.


It was three day later, when everyone was beginning to leave that Zuko and Katara met alone again. They had both used the courtyard separately, as a space to get away. And so it was again on this day, as Aang packed his bags, Katara sought the solitude of the small, forgotten corner of the earth palace to decide what she wanted.

I could go back to the southern water tribe, with my father, but he'll end up asking lots of awkward questions about why I'm not with Aang. Same with Sokka and Suki. Although it's more likely that Sokka will go crazy as soon as he finds out and run off to kill Aang. And they've been getting much... closer recently. I don't really want to disturb them. Toph has already decided she's going to help Aang rebuild the Western air temple, so that only really leaves Zuko...

As though he had heard her thoughts, Zuko walked into the courtyard. He wandered through the ornately carved arch that faced the bench on which Katara sat, and she looked at him for a moment that betrayed her train of thought, but schooled her expression before he looked up and saw her. He stopped suddenly when he saw her looking at him, clearly expecting the courtyard to be deserted, but smiled warmly at Katara's cool stare, unperturbed.

"Hey" He said.

"Hello Zuko." She hoped her tone told him that she wanted to be left alone. Zuko shifted his weight from one foot to the other, as he continued to stand just inside the courtyard entrance.

"Do you mind if I...?"

"Please. Sit. Don't mind me." Katara laced her voice with sarcasm, but either Zuko was more dense than she suspected or he was deliberately ignoring the tone to sit amicably beside her. She edged to the edge of the bench, trying not to make a big thing of it, but the way that Zuko hesitated told her that he noticed. At last, a response.

"I didn't think I'd find anyone else here. I like to think here. It reminds me of the Royal Garden in the Fire Palace." Katara loosened her tight shoulders. She found it very difficult to be angry with Calm Zuko. Angry Zuko was much more her style.

"I notice you aren't packing to go with Aang. That was a pretty bad fight you guys had." It wasn't a question it was a statement of fact, and now Katara's thoughts had returned to Zuko as the possible way out of an explanation again. It would be so easy. He's right here, why don't I just ask him?

"I was wondering. Would you like to come back with me to the Fire Nation Capitol? I want you to do for me what you did for Aang, talk to the people and tell me what they think. I can't go and talk to them, I'm the Fire lord and they fear me, like they feared my Father." Katara felt like there was something that he wasn't telling her, but she couldn't help but give him a smile.

"Thanks. I really didn't know what to do."

"No problem. And I want to give back to you, after my family took so much away." They both knew he was referring to her mother.

"You can't keep feeling guilty every time anyone mentions the war, or anything associated with it. Yes, fire nation soldiers took my mother, but you ended the war. You are a hero."

"How can I not feel guilty when everyone looks at me like they hate me, even my own people. I'm the Fire Lord, and that's been a title that has haunted them and crowded their nightmares for a century. They have every right to hate me."

Katara pulled herself close to him and put her arm around him. Zuko Relaxed into the embrace again, and they enjoyed the companionship as they had before for a while longer, before hurrying off to organise their leaving arrangements. It would be a few weeks more before the Fire Lord left, but they both wanted to leave this city, full as it was of memories of past failures.

Please tell me what you hate :D

I have decided to start posting before the end of November, because I really want some feedback about Katara. I've had some real trouble writing her, and would really value any advice that anyone has. Trouble writing Katara is going to be a serious issue, as most of the fic will be from her PoV.

Ok, and I promise this is the last bit of thing that I will ask from people, but tell me about chapter length. Do you want fast, short chapters or long ones less often? I can probably do about this length of chapter twice a week if I push myself.

THANK YOU FOR READING! Here, have a #cookie