Thanks for the reviews, to those who did. It is appreciated, though I don't have time to respond to all of them. Sorry about that.
Here is the second chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar
CHAPTER 2
Around midday, everyone was awake again. They all set about their tasks to fix up the campsite for the rest of the day. Toru and Katara were left to make lunch while everyone else wandered off for water, firewood, and food.
"So, you're the cook of the group, huh?" Katara said bemusedly as they started throwing things together in a bowl to make stew.
"Yeah, Kita's a lousy chef," he laughed.
"Sokka would find this very unnerving," Katara replied. "He's still in that whole 'girls do the cooking, guys do the killing' mindset."
"Yeah, I got booted out of that around the time I met Kita."
"So, are you a firebender?" Katara asked curiously. They both stopped their food preparation for a moment to talk properly.
"Nah, not really. I mean, I can do this," he snapped his fingers and a flame appeared. He snapped again and it vanished. "But that's about the extent. I use it to light my arrows sometimes. And the campfire."
Katara laughed a little. "So... are there lots of firebenders in Sozen's Bane?" she asked.
Toru nodded. "Yeah, there are a lot of us, and at least half are firebenders. Why do you ask?"
Katara looked at the fire for a moment. "Aang needs to learn firebending, and the only firebenders we know are enemies. There was one man who was going to teach Aang, but he vanished, and we don't have time to look for him."
"Well, Sozen's Bane sounds like the place to be for Aang," Toru said with a smile.
Katara bit her lip. "There is one other problem," she said quietly. "Aang tried firebending once, and it didn't end well. Long story short, he swore to me he'd never firebend again. And he hasn't broken a promise to me yet. I haven't brought it up since then, but I know it's going to be a problem."
"Don't worry about it," Toru said simply. Katara looked at him curiously. "Until the time comes that he refuses to firebend, you don't need to worry about it. When that time comes, you'll help him through it."
"Me?" Katara said doubtfully.
"You," he repeated. He looked straight into her eyes. It made her nervous. "Trust me, you'll know what to do."
She looked back at the beginnings of the stew. "Thanks," she said, smiling.
They all spent the rest of the day relaxing and getting acquainted. Sokka ended up having a lot in common with Toru, though he still didn't like him because he was from the Fire Nation. Toru didn't really mind. Toph and Aang talked to him for along time. Katara, on the other hand, finally had time to talk to another girl around her age. She had been starved of female company for much too long, considering Toph acted more like the boys. They talked all afternoon about simple things like their grandparents and waterbending. However, when the darkness of the late evening fell, Katara ventured a different topic.
She looked across the fire. The others weren't paying attention. She turned to Kita. "Can I ask you a personal question?" she said quietly.
Kita looked at her for a moment, then turned her gaze across the fire to Toru. "Yes, I am in love with him," she said, smiling.
Katara stared at her, surprised. "How did you know I was going to ask you that?"
Kita looked at her again. "Because I was going to ask you the same thing," she said, nodding toward Aang.
Katara's eyes widened. "Me? In love with Aang? That's... no, I mean... I'm not in lo... I, uh... oh no..." Katara stammered uselessly, resigning herself to the inevitable. She looked up at Kita. "Is it that obvious?"
Kita grinned triumphantly. "Honestly? Yeah."
Katara sighed and looked down. "It's not a good thing..." she muttered.
Kita looked like she was trying not to laugh. "What's wrong with being in love?"
Katara sighed again. "Nothing. I just... I just can't be in love with Aang," she said, sounding tired. "It's... complicated."
Kita sighed as well. "Yeah, I know what you mean."
"Does he know how you feel? Er... does he feel the same?" Katara asked tentatively, trying to turn the subject from herself.
Kita nodded, gazing through the flames at Toru. "Yeah, he does," she said vaguely.
"So then... are you two...?"
Kita sighed again. "No, we're not," she said. Now she sounded tired. "It's complicated."
Both of them fell silent and stared through the fire at Toru and Aang.
"How do you know you're in love with him?" Katara asked quietly.
Kita thought for a moment. "It was a slow process, falling in love with him. I mean, I won't pretend we haven't been shamelessly flirting since day one, but... I think I first noticed it a few months ago. We were in a village south of here, and we met this boy. He immediately started hitting on me. It was driving Toru crazy, he was so jealous. But I didn't really mind it because I knew I wasn't interested. And then it hit me. I wasn't interested because I was done. I was done looking for someone. I didn't get it at first, but he was right in front of me." She smiled softly, eyes clouding over as though she was enjoying a wonderful memory.
"After we left that village..." she laughed a little to herself, eyes sparkling. "He wouldn't talk to me for hours. He was acting like a baby. So I asked him what was wrong, you know, just to humor him. And he got all snippy at me. He asked me why I was flirting with that guy, what was the matter with me, what I saw in him, blah blah blah. I was just smiling. But then he slipped up. Along with all the testosterone-fueled yelling, he accidentally said that he loved me. And he froze. He just stood there panicking for a good thirty seconds. I couldn't believe the feeling..." She sighed sadly, though she was still smiling.
"I actually laughed a little. I mean, I couldn't help it. I felt so wonderful. And he just got mad at me again and asked me what I was laughing at. And I told him. I just came right out and told him that I loved him. I was so happy. But so... not happy."
"Why?" Katara whispered, enthralled by her story.
Kita sighed again. "I just couldn't let myself be happy. I knew that it wouldn't work with us... but he didn't. He tried to kiss me." She looked down sadly. "I wanted him to. I really, really wanted him to. But I wouldn't let him. I just told him to forget it. Us. He kept asking me why, he didn't understand. But I never really gave him a reason. It was too hard..." She stopped for a moment, unable to continue. She closed her eyes. Katara watched her sadly. If it was going to get this painful for her to love Aang, but not be with him...
"Well, since then he's been trying to get to me," she continued quietly. "He'll spring something on me when I least expect it." She blushed a little. "He'll touch my shoulder or my cheek... or just come up behind me and put his hands on my waist... and sometimes he does this thing where he kind of... stops and leans in really close, and then he just closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, like he's trying to drink me in or something." She shivered a little. "It drives me crazy... especially during the full moon. He can see how much it irritates me..." Katara blushed a little as well, smiling sympathetically.
"Oh spirits, I love him..." Kita sighed, flustered. She ran her fingers up into her hair distractedly, knocking her bandana askew. She looked up at Toru through the fire, not even trying to disguise the longing in her gaze. Toru seemed to feel her eyes on him, because he looked up at her. He seemed a little surprised by the way she was looking at him, but he didn't look away. Katara noticed with a jolt that he had the same kind of longing in his eyes. Kita looked down after a moment and Toru looked away, acting as though it hadn't happened.
"Kita..." Katara said sadly. "If you love him so much it's hurting you... and he actually loves you back..." Kita looked at her miserably. Katara continued, sounding almost frantic. "Do you know how rare that is? I mean... the person you're desperately in love with loves you back! Why don't you do something about it?"
Kita didn't answer for a long time. "I don't really want to explain," she muttered. "But I just can't stop loving him. I'll be watching him, while he's sleeping, or while he's just relaxing by the fire... I know, without a doubt, that if he were to leave, I'd do anything to get him back beside me."
Katara sighed a little. "Sounds familiar," she muttered.
Kita smiled a little and nudged her shoulder. "Everything will turn out okay with you two," she said. "Don't worry."
Katara didn't respond. She looked sadly at Kita. She had never seen someone so in love... and in so much pain because of it.
Later that night, everyone was preparing to go to sleep. Toru agreed to take first watch, so Aang used his bedroll again. Katara couldn't fall asleep. She closed her eyes and tossed and turned, but sleep wouldn't find her. She opened her eyes when she heard footsteps. She sat up a little and looked out at the cliff at the other end of the clearing. She saw Kita sitting down next to Toru, and the night was quiet enough for her to hear what they were saying.
"You looked lonely," Kita said quietly.
Toru looked at her. "Couldn't sleep?" he asked.
Kita smiled. "No. I'll take over the watch if you want."
"Nah, I'm fine."
The two of them lapsed into silence for a while. Then, Toru spoke.
"You know I love you, don't you?"
"Toru, don't..." Kita began, standing up quickly.
Toru jumped to his feet and stopped her. "Come on, I don't understand why you're fighting me," he said, keeping his voice low so he wouldn't wake anyone. "Katara has known us for a day and she can see it. I saw the way you looked at me when you were talking to her."
"Please, don't do this again," Kita said coldly, trying to turn back toward the fire. Toru grabbed both of her wrists and turned her to face him.
"I just want a reason," he said, looking straight at her. "Please."
Kita stared at him and took a deep breath. "What happens when we find Sozen's Bane, Toru?" she whispered. "You rejoin the resistance, go off to fight the Fire Nation. Where do I fit in there? There's no room for me in your life once you're back with your people. And if I had to let you go... No. I couldn't let you go. Not if you hold on to me now."
"I'll make room for you, Kita. You know I'd do anything for you."
Kita tried to pull away, grumbling, "I'm just being rational."
"No, you're being stubborn."
"You're the one being stubborn."
"Do you love me?"
Kita stopped struggling and stared at him. "What?"
"Do you love me?"
"How can you even ask me that? You know I do."
"And you know I love you. Things like this don't just happen. We're meant for each other."
"Toru-" she began, trying to pull away again.
Katara's eyes widened. Toru had grabbed the back of Kita's head and pressed his lips to hers. She stopped struggling immediately, practically going limp in his arms. After a few moments, they pulled apart. Kita looked dazed for several moments, breathing slowly. She closed her eyes and shook her head, placing her hands on his chest and trying to push him away.
"No... no... you can't just..." she murmured, trying to sound angry through the delirious fog around her.
"Shhhh..." he replied, moving toward her again.
She shook her head quickly, leaning away. "I'm not going to give in to you," she said quietly, finally regaining the edge in her voice.
"Kita..." he muttered, stroking her cheek. She closed her eyes contentedly and sighed.
"Please don't..." she whispered, though she didn't sound like she meant it.
"Why not?"
"Because you'll break my heart."
"I'd never do that."
"...Prove it."
"Okay," he leaned in close to her and kissed her again, slowly, gently. Kita sighed against his lips and wrapped her arms around his neck. Katara felt heat rising to her cheeks. The camp was completely silent, but every so often Kita would make a small sound of contentment in the back of her throat, just loud enough to carry to Katara's ears. After a short while they pulled apart. Toru looked at her carefully. She kept her eyes closed, breathing deeply.
"I... I'm still right you... you know..." she muttered, trying to control the situation.
"I know," Toru replied, humoring her as he moved in for another kiss.
Katara closed her eyes and smiled, lying back down on her bedroll. Maybe she should try to get to sleep now.
