It was a beautiful, clear day. Colorful flowers dotted the grass and full, green leaves swayed on tree branches in the breeze. But Katara saw none of it.
As she sat alone in the cemetery, she stared blindly at the headstone with her mother's name, birth, and death date etched on the front. Her father had made the print fairly large with beautiful colored flowers hand painted just above the wording.
Her vision blurred with tears for the fourth time since she'd been there and she sighed in defeat. Each year she hoped that the process would get easier and each year she was disappointed.
She thought about her career...her life right now. At her young age, she was dancing for one of the best companies in the city and hoped to begin teaching soon. Would her mother be proud? Katara wasn't sure but she was trying to do what she had always wanted. She believed that would be enough.
True to his word, her dad had called first thing in the morning. She hadn't slept more than a couple hours the night before and her nerves were frayed by the time he reached her. She kept her conversation to a minimum and she knew her dad was worried. She just couldn't bring herself to pretend to be okay that day. She assured him she wouldn't skip the dinner that night (even though every fiber of her being was begging her to) and that seemed to placate him. She was definitely planning to spend the rest of the afternoon at the studio beforehand. It always helped her to clear her head and rid herself of any extra emotions.
Her mind wandered to Zuko and a small smile came to her lips. They had only known each other a few weeks but she could feel a friendship blossoming. He had already met Suki and he seemed to like that Katara had thought enough of him to bring him coffee. Still she didn't know him all that well and was afraid of her feelings.
"This is where I could really use your advice, Mom," she said quietly, swiping at her eyes. "I don't want to keep making the same mistakes. I want what you and dad had."
She sniffled. She had been sitting there for over an hour already but didn't want to leave. Still, she had already gotten several texts from Sokka checking in on her. She knew she needed to head out soon so he could have his time with her. She was thankful she still had several hours until dinner to get herself back under control.
"Love you always," she said quietly as she got to her feet. She gave the headstone a quick pat, double checked the placement of her flowers, and then walked back to her car. She shot a quick text to Sokka to let him know she was okay and that she was leaving. Then she headed straight to the studio.
She was relieved to find no cars in the parking lot when she got there. Some small part of her was worried that Ty Lee or even Zuko would be there. As much as she enjoyed spending time with them, especially Zuko, she didn't want them seeing her in her current emotional state. After letting herself in, she quickly changed, cued up her music, and began to dance.
~o0o~
Two hours later, Katara had finally finished and found herself at the cafe with her brother and friends. Aang was currently helping Suki set out their food while Katara pulled out plates, silverware, and cups. Sokka was rearranging the tables so they could all sit together comfortably.
"Hey, how did it go today?" Aang asked Katara cautiously as he set a large bowl of pasta salad on the table. Katara nodded, not looking up from the napkin she was folding.
"It was okay. It was a pretty day and her headstone is holding up well." Katara's voice caught at the end of the statement but she swallowed hard and continued."Overall it was...nice."
She felt Aang glance over at her and she looked back at him doing her best to mask the pain that was still coursing through her. Apparently deciding she looked okay, he smiled brightly. "Good, I'm glad. You know, if you ever need to talk..."
"I know, Aang. Thanks." Katara cut him off, squeezing his arm affectionately. She wasn't totally sure she would ever take him up on that offer because at this point, she really only talked to her family about her mom, but it was nice to be reminded he was there for her.
"Okay, I think we've got everything we need here. Ready to eat?" Suki announced.
"Do you even have to ask?" Sokka answered, sliding quickly into his seat and grabbing a fork and knife. "Let's do this!"
Suki chuckled, taking the chair next to him and they all began passing the food around. Everyone, except Sokka, had contributed some sort of dish to the dinner and between the salad, pork, vegetables, and rice, everyone was able to find something tasty to eat.
Katara was talking and laughing with everyone and finally started feeling a little better. At that moment, her cell phone buzzed in her pocket. Ty Lee had sent out a text about an extra rehearsal she wanted to hold the next day. She glanced up at Aang, noticing him also reaching for his phone.
"Is that Dad?" Sokka asked speaking around the food in his mouth. Katara shook her head.
"We have to rehearse tomorrow. Ty Lee just sent out a mass text."
"Man! Aang, What about our gaming day?"
"Gaming day? You need an entire day to play video games?!" Katara said in disbelief. Sokka rolled his eyes.
"Well, we don't need a whole day. But that's what we were going to do for the whole day," he explained. Then he turned back to Aang. "What are we supposed to do now?"
"We'll do it on Sunday instead. Maybe you and Suki can hang out tomorrow. That would be fun, right?"
Sokka sighed heavily as he looked over at his girlfriend. "You wanna hang out tomorrow?" he asked dejectedly and Suki folded her arms across her chest. Her eyes narrowed.
"Gee, don't sound so excited about it."
Sokka quickly corrected himself. "I'm sorry, babe. I'm just disappointed."
Suki looked thoughtful. "Maybe this will cheer you up."
She leaned over and began whispering in his ear. Sokka's face slowly turned an alarming shade of red. He licked his lips and pulled at the collar of his shirt. Aang quirked an eyebrow up in confusion and Katara stifled a laugh. Knowing Suki, she was describing in detail why spending the day with her would be way more exciting than spending the day with Aang.
"Uh, yeah, so…..hmm. That definitely could be...um...fun also." He stared down into his plate of food, squirming in his seat and Katara couldn't hold back her laughter any longer. Suki smirked, looking pleased with how flustered she'd made him and Aang just shrugged. Then he turned to Katara.
"Great! Katara, want to ride over together? "
"That's okay, Aang. I have an errand to run after. Thanks though."
She did need to go to the store. But,truthfully, she also hoped to have a chance to talk to Zuko and didn't want to have to cut that short because her ride was waiting in her.
The group finished eating dinner among conversations about the show and Katara felt more at ease again. Her family and friends had lifted her mood like they always did but she also felt a slight flutter in her stomach at the thought that she would be able to see Zuko again tomorrow afternoon.
~o0o~
Katara finally felt like the movements were settling into her limbs. She still wasn't completely happy with all aspects of the dance but she was finally enjoying being able to be more creative with her choreography. The extra rehearsal was doing her a lot of good.
Zuko was turning out to be invaluable during the process of her making final changes. He was able to explain the emotion of certain parts of the song to her which allowed her to accurately interpret the sections.
Katara was physically exhausted from dancing and still a little emotionally drained from the day before. But she smiled and talked with Aang and the others as best she could while Zuko walked silently beside them. He was a quiet guy but his presence made her feel calm and at peace.
When everyone branched off to head to their cars, Katara waved goodnight to the group, making specific eye contact with Zuko. Her car was further away than everyone else's and in a darker part of the lot, but she barely noticed as she set off in that direction. Before she got too far into her trek, she heard Zuko call out to her.
"Hey, Katara. Let me walk you. You're pretty far from the rest of us."
"Sure. Thanks." She had secretly hoped he would offer, even if it only gave her a few more seconds with him. She hid a pleased smile.
They talked easily about the performances and found themselves in a captivating discussion about the meaning behind the music as well as the arts in general. She had never seen him so animated in conversation. His eyes had so much passion and fire in them. It was obvious he loved his work. By the time they were done, the parking lot had cleared out.
Katara glanced at her watch, surprised to see forty five minutes had passed.
"Wow, I didn't realize it was so late. I need to head out. I have an early morning tomorrow."
Zuko nodded and Katara detected a little disappointment in his features. She felt the same.
"Okay. Drive safe," he cautioned and she nodded.
"I enjoyed talking to you. This was fun."
"Yeah, it was."
She grinned before quickly turning and letting herself into her car. The last things she wanted was for him to see the effect those words were having on her.
Once she was behind the wheel, she turned the key and nothing happened.
"What the-" she muttered trying it nothing. Katara groaned in frustration. The engine wasn't turning over or even attempting to start and she sighed.
"Just great!" she moaned, resting her head on the steering wheel.
She then saw a pair of headlights coming toward her and immediately recognized Zuko's car. He rolled his window down when he got close and she opened her door.
"Everything okay? "
"My car won't start," she said, frustration rising within her and he got out of his car.
"Mind if I try?"
"Not at all," she said, getting out and letting him sit in the driver seat. He turned it a few times and also got nothing.
"Might be the battery but I'm not sure. This car is definitely not going anywhere tonight without a tow truck."
Katara rubbed her temple, sighing. She did not need this right now.
Zuko eyed her sympathetically. "Hey, let me drive you home. You can have it towed tomorrow. And if you need me to bring you back then, I can."
Katara smiled. He was doing his best to make her feel better, not knowing that the idea of being alone in a car with him was all she needed.
"Thank you so much Zuko. I owe you big time." She sighed then nodded.
"It is pretty late so maybe I'll take care of it tomorrow, like you said."
She quickly grabbed what she needed out of her car and then they loaded it up in his car. As soon as they were seated comfortably, Zuko took off toward her place.
He had classical music playing softly on the satellite radio in his car as they cruised through the night. Lights from the buildings within the city speckled the horizon and Katara enjoyed the view from his moonroof. After a few minutes of driving in silence, Katara thought of a question she had been wondering about for a while.
"Hey, so what do you think about the show so far? Do you like how things are turning out?"
Katara was nervous to even ask about that. She steeled herself for a negative response but part of her wasn't sure how she would react if he was unhappy with how things were going, especially considering she was a main part of the entire program.
Zuko had a thoughtful look on his face as his right arm rested on the armrest between them.
"I think you all are doing a great job with it. Especially you. You are the best by far."
Katara felt like she was going to pass out. What he was saying was so much more than he expected to hear.
"Really?" she squeaked and Zuko glanced her in amusement.
"Do you seriously not think you're a good dancer?"
Katara stared down at her lap, her hands gripping her sweatpants. "No, I know I can dance," she began. "It's just...I don't always feel people are being honest with me about how well I'm actually doing."
"Believe me, you're great."
Katara felt like she would start crying again like the first night they met. Zuko wasn't the type to just say something nice to make someone feel better. She could tell that he wouldn't make a statement like that unless he believed it was true.
"Thanks," she said. She glanced over at him as he watched the road and she couldn't get over how good-looking he was. His profile from her angle was so perfectly chiseled it almost didn't seem real. She forced her gaze away as she stared at the road again and was startled when his voice permeated the space in the car.
"You've been pretty quiet today." His tone was curious, as if he was making an interesting observation. Katara felt her heart rate pick up as she realized he had noticed her change in mood. Even though she had tried to mask it, he saw right through her.
"Yeah, I guess I just had a long day with family yesterday." She subconsciously released a sigh. It didn't feel like the right moment to go into detail about her mother and it was the last thing she wanted to think about.
Zuko nodded. "I see."
He fell silent again and they sat comfortably for the rest of the trip home. They momentarily spoke up to discuss what was on the radio and Katara felt her nervousness slowly starting to fade. Before she knew it, he was pulling up to her apartment building.
"Zuko, thank you again for this. I'm sorry you had to drive all the way out here."
"It's fine. Don't worry about it. Do you need a ride back out there tomorrow?"
"No, I'll have my brother take me. I appreciate it." She brushed his arm briefly with her fingertips as she gazed into his eyes. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight. If you need anything, let me know."
Katara did her best to keep her facial expression neutral at his statement. As she backed away from the car, she had a thought. She drew from all the courage that existed within her and spoke.
"Hey. I, um, I'm going to need your phone number. You know...in case I need anything." She smiled to offset the pit forming in her stomach. How desperate was she sounding right now?
He chuckled, pulling out his phone. "Right, of course. What's your number?" She recited it back to him, her mind racing. Was this actually happening? This was insane. Calm down!
His fingers flew quickly across the screen, then he set the phone down. "Okay, well, I'll see you."
"Bye." She waved to him, barely containing the giddy feeling spreading across her chest and clawing at her throat. She hurried to her doorstep knowing he would watch to make sure she got in the door. As soon as she closed and locked it behind her, she whipped out her cell phone. There was his text.
Zuko here. This is my number.
Then another message right after that.
I'm sorry yesterday was hard. Feel better soon.
Katara slid down until she was sitting on the floor. Tears had flooded her eyes and now they were spilling over. The emotions that slammed into her caught her completely off guard.
If only he knew just how hard yesterday had been. And his seemingly polite text had touched her more deeply than all the hugs and sad smiles her family could give. Why was that? Was it just her crush on him making his words seem earth-shattering? Or was it the fact that this man who had only known her for a few weeks could tell that she was not herself and was trying to help? Maybe it was both. Either way, he was taking the time to learn her and it brought up a warmth inside of her just thinking about it.
She sent him a quick message back and then held the phone to her chest.
"Thank you, Zuko," she whispered. Then she smiled, wiping her eyes, and stood to get ready for bed.