A Marriage of Convenience, Chapter Three: Answers

Katara sat on the edge of the fountain, watching the baby turtle-ducks chase each other around the lily pads. She trailed her fingers through the water, hoping its ebb and flow would wash the tension and confusion from her mind. Marry Zuko? She was shocked – not at the idea of marrying him, but at how incredibly tempted she was. It was as if Shyu had looked inside her heart and seen her deepest desire, one buried so far down that even she didn't recognize it until it was brought out into the sunlight.

She'd awoken just before daybreak this morning to find herself clinging to Zuko like he was her anchor in that vast, slippery sea he called a bed. Her head lay on his chest and she could hear his heartbeat, strong and soothing, in the predawn quiet. He radiated warmth like a campfire, and in her drowsy state she wanted to linger by the source of that heat as long as possible. She felt safe in his arms, sheltered, and when was the last time she felt like that? Before her father left for war? Before her mother died? How strange it was that the Fire Nation had torn her family apart, and yet now the Fire Lord himself was the only one who could make her feel whole again.

Not that he was the Fire Lord yet, she reminded herself. The Great Sage was obviously trying to turn things to his advantage at Zuko's expense. If he thought some bureaucratic technicality was going to stop Zuko from realizing his destiny, then the Great Sage was the biggest fool in the Fire Nation. She had vowed last night to be there for Zuko no matter what, to defend him, support him, the way no one else ever had. Well, he needed her now. She would do anything and everything in her power to help him. If that meant going along with Shyu's scheme, so be it.

"I thought I'd find you here." Zuko's voice startled her, and she turned to see him leave the stone path to join her at the fountain. The baby turtle-ducks quacked at him and swam away, their tail feathers quivering indignantly. "They never did like me," he said with a smile as he sat down beside her.

"Zuko – "

He held up his hand. "Katara, before you say anything, I need you to know that you won't be forced into any decisions. I'm sure you had plans, maybe to go back to your tribe. The last thing you probably want is to stay in the Fire Nation."

Katara shook her head. "I haven't made any kind of plans. I was so focused on getting through the comet, I didn't think past that."

"But with the war finally over, and your father free, don't you want to return to your people? You haven't been home in almost a year." Zuko reached out to touch the back of her hand. "I know what it's like to be homesick. I can't ask you to stay here with me."

Katara was silent for a moment, trying to find a way to describe the warring impulses within her. "I do want to finally have more time with my father, and to see how Gran Gran and Pakku and everyone else are doing. But – I'm not sure how to explain this – I'm not the same girl who left home all those months ago." She spread her hands wide. "I've seen the whole world, done things I could have never imagined. After all that, I'm not sure I could be happy spending the rest of my life back in my village. Does that sound horrible?"

Zuko shook his head. "I spent three years wanting to come home and be Prince of the Fire Nation again. But when I finally got here, I realized I didn't fit in that role anymore. I had changed too much. I had to find a new path for myself."

Katara nodded. "I can still see my father, and help my people, but in a different way. By doing everything I can to ensure peace between the nations."

"Even if it means you have to marry me?" Zuko teased.

"It's not as much of a hardship as you seem to think it is," Katara said wryly.

Zuko smiled briefly, but when he spoke again, his voice was serious. "You deserve to marry someone you love. I can't ask you to accept a political arrangement just for my convenience."

Katara turned back to the water, her thoughts turbulent again. Political decisions were easy, but making sense of her emotions was next to impossible. Her feelings for Zuko were strong, but they were also new. Was it love? She didn't know, but why did he instantly assume she couldn't possibly love him? After years of being told he was unworthy of love by his father and sister, it was as though he couldn't imagine anyone actually loving him. The thought made her angry, and the protective instincts from last night resurfaced.

"Zuko, I know I didn't trust you when you first tried to join Aang and the rest of us. I said some pretty mean things to you, and I'm sorry for that."

"It was nothing I didn't deserve," he said quietly.

She shook her head. "No, you don't deserve insults. You've earned my trust."

"You have my trust as well, Katara." He looked down at their joined hands, he voice raspy with emotion. "I never realized what an impossible task it would be to bring peace to the Fire Nation. I'm not sure I can do it by myself. Please, help me. Stand at my side. Be my wife."

Katara leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his forehead. She slid her lips down to his scarred ear and whispered her answer. "Yes, Zuko. I'll stand by you. I'll marry you."

His hands tightened on hers, then he leapt to his feet and pulled her up into an embrace. She laughed as he rocked her awkwardly. "Thank you, Katara." Hands entwined, they left the fountain and turned back to the path. "Let's go break the news to the Great Sage. I'm sure he'll want to be the first to congratulate us," Zuko said dryly.

"Congratulate you for what?" The Avatar's voice stopped both of them in their tracks.

"Aang!" Katara raced forward to envelop him in a hug. Then she pulled back and looked him up and down. "You're not hurt?"

He shook his head. 'I'm okay."

"What about my father?" Zuko asked. "What happened to him?"

"He's still alive," Aang said. At their surprised expressions, he quickly explained his newfound ability to bend energy. "Sokka and Suki are keeping an eye on him until we can get him in prison. But without his firebending, he won't be able to hurt anyone again. Maybe he and Azula can share a cell." Aang laughed, but quickly noticed they weren't laughing with him. "What's the matter? Did Azula escape?"

Katara cleared her throat. "Noooo – it's just, well, she's not in prison."

"She's dead," Zuko said flatly. "She nearly killed me with a lightning bolt. There was no other way to stop her."

"So you killed your own sister?"

"No," Katara said. "I killed her." She watched the emotions play out on Aang's face: first shock, then disappointment, then suspicion.

"Wasn't there any other way to stop her?" he asked.

"What, do you think I wanted to have her life on my hands?"

"I don't know. Sometimes your temper gets away from you. Maybe there was another way to stop her. Maybe you wanted revenge."

Katara felt hot tears rush to her eyes, and her fists clenched with the effort it took to keep from shouting back at him. "Well, I'm sorry I'm not some all-powerful energybender like you are. You weren't there! Zuko was dying!"

Zuko took one of her fists into his hand and ran his thumb firmly along her wrist. Her hand relaxed instantly, and she felt the fight drain out of the rest of her body as well. "She's right," he said. "If she hadn't acted quickly, Azula would have killed both of us."

Katara angrily wiped away her tears, and when Zuko pulled her into an embrace, she went willingly. Hearing him defend her meant so much. She rested her cheek against his shoulder, and let his arms wrap around her. His hand at the small of her back pulled her tight against him, and she bunched her hands up in the back of his royal robes. She closed her eyes, letting the simple heat of his body, the weight of his touch, comfort her.

"Look, Katara, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to accuse you of anything," Aang said.

After a few moments, Katara took a deep breath and then pulled out of Zuko's embrace. "Aang, I think we need to talk. Zuko, why don't you go tell the Great Sage – what we decided."

Zuko glanced reluctantly at Aang. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"I'm sure," she replied. Zuko squeezed her hands one last time, and then strode back into the Palace. "Aang, I have something else to tell you. I'm not sure you're going to like it." She described the problem of Zuko's succession, and the compromise they worked out with the Great Sage.

"Married?" Aang's voice broke halfway through the word. "When?"

"Right away. Maybe even tonight. There's so much to do, and we have to make Zuko's authority official as soon as possible. Please don't be angry."

Aang shook his head. "I'm just surprised Katara. Why would I be angry?"

Katara blushed. "Well, back at Ember Island, when you kissed me…I thought that after the comet, you'd expect some kind of answer from me about….about us."

To her surprise, Aang didn't blush or stutter. He simply looked sad. "Things are different now. I had to do something, when I was fighting Ozai."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember when I went to Guru Pathik? I was supposed to learn how to master the avatar state. But ever since Ba Sing Se, I haven't been able to get in the avatar state at all."

"You never told me that. What was the problem?"

"You were the problem, Katara." At her look of confusion, he explained, "well, really it was my problem. The guru said the only way I would be able to control the avatar state was to let go of all worldly attachments. But I couldn't let go of you."

"So I was stopping you from entering the avatar state?"

"Not you, exactly. My feelings about you. They were blocking my chakra. That's what I had to do to defeat Ozai. The only way I could get to the avatar state, and get the power to energybend, was to let you go."

Katara expected to feel a wave of sadness. After all, Aang's crush on her had been painfully obvious for the past year, and she had spent many sleepless nights around the campfire trying to decide how to respond to him. But the overwhelming sense of relief she now felt made her own feelings clear for the first time. Yes, she loved Aang – as a friend, or a brother. Nothing more.

"I'm glad you're not upset, Aang. It means a lot to me to have your support on this." They turned and began walking companionably back into the palace.

"Hey, I was the one who told you Zuko was a good guy," Aang reminded her, laughing. "It just took you a long time to admit I was right. Besides, it's not me you should be worried about. Hakoda's ship was just pulling into port when I got here."

Katara chuckled. "Oh, I'm not worried. I think Zuko can handle Dad." In fact, she realized, there wasn't much her husband-to-be couldn't handle.