Katara Alone

"Katara?" Zuko says, jumping to his feet as the door to his office opens wide. He hadn't seen her in over a year. Not she left with Aang after they had helped him find Ursa. She was still the Katara he remembered, but something was different about her. She looked like she was long overdue for a good night's sleep. "What are you doing here? That came out wrong." He says, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm glad to see you. I just wasn't expecting you."

"Zuko." Katara sobs, breaking into tears as she closes the distance between them. He wraps her arms around her waist as she cries on his shoulder. Her body was shaking, as the sobs wracked her body. "I- I-." Her voice cracks, unable to make the words come out of her mouth. "Can I stay?"

"Of course," He says, his hand moving to smooth the mass of curls that were tickling his face. Her hair was longer than he remembered. "you can stay as long as you want. You're always welcome here in the Fire Nation, you know that."

She doesn't answer, instead she continues to sob as Zuko leads her to the small couch in the corner of the room. She cries for what seems like hours. He sits with her, rubbing her back and continually reassuring her that whatever is bothering her would turn out okay. He tries to get her to talk about what was happening, but it's only met with more sobs. He wracks his brain for whatever could have made her so upset. Sokka was doing fine, he had received a letter from him only three days ago. Toph was thriving in the Earth Kingdom. It could have had something to do with her grandmother or maybe her dad, but surely Sokka would have mentioned that. Maybe she was having problems with Aang…

After a long while of her not answering his questions, he gives up and starts to talk to fill the silence. He talks about how Mai wouldn't talk to him after their break up over a year ago. He tells her about how his mother is adjusting to being back in the Fire Nation and how his younger half sister seems to be fitting in well at the Fire Nation Academy for Girls. He tells her about the turtle ducks, there are three families of them sharing the pond this year. He talks about how Iroh is expanding the Jasmine Dragon and just opened two more shops. Iroh would be here soon, he was coming to spend time with Zuko and would be thrilled to see that Katara was here.

She eventually stops crying and Zuko looks down at her fast asleep with her head on his chest as they laid back on the couch. If anyone walked in it would be hard to explain that it was nothing more than platonic. Rubbing her back gently, he tries to stir her awake only to get an angry grunt from the girl.

"Okay, I guess I'll carry you to the guest room." He says, laughing quietly at how childlike she was being when he tried to move her. He glances at the large clock in the corner of the office, it was just past midnight, that the hallways would be cleared of the servants and guards who might give them a second glance.

He was going to take her to the room that she had normally stayed in, but something told him that would be a bad idea. Instead, he takes her to his old bedroom. Carefully opening the door, he steps inside to lay her down on the deep red silk comforter. The room was just how he had left it all those years ago. He didn't spend much time here when he came back to the Fire Nation with Azula after he had stupidly betrayed Katara down in the crystal mines.

"Goodnight, Katara." He says, pulling the comforter up to her chin.

As he was walking out the door, he hears her voice call out to him. "Please, stay." He wasn't sure that he had heard her make the request until her wrapped hand reached out towards him. "Please."

Pushing the door shut, he goes back to the bed and takes her hand deciding that he would stay until she fell asleep. Kicking off his shoes, he lays down beside her, staying on top of the comforter. The room was a bit chilly, but he didn't mind, his bending had almost always kept him comfortable. Katara interlocks her fingers with his own. "Thank you, Zuko."

"It's nothing, Katara. Anything for the girl who saved my life." He says, giving her hand a squeeze.

The rising of the sun stirs Zuko awake early the next morning. His heart jumps into his throat when he realizes that he's not in his bed in the Fire Lord's Suite. His pulse begins to slow as his eyes adjust to the darkness of the room, his old room. Why was he here? He can see his shirt and shoes laying on the end of the bed. Going to sit up, he is stopped by the weight on his left arm. Panic rushes through him when he realizes that it's Katara who is asleep next to him. His mind jumps to the obvious and probably most dangerous conclusion, before the memory of Katara showing up that night crying comes to him.

Sighing in relief, he gently pries his arm out from underneath her, thanking Agni that he had woken up before she did. He really didn't want anyone to know that they were cuddling in their sleep. No telling what kind of trouble that would cause. He moves slowly, trying his best not to wake her as he gets dressed. Tears streaked her tanned face, letting him know that she had cried in her sleep. Whatever had gotten her upset must have been bad.

He nearly trips over her cloak and boots on his way out of the room. She must have kicked thrown them off at some point in the night. He folds them on the edge of the bed before exiting the room to do his morning mediations.

Katara opens her eyes to the sun peaking through the curtains and landing right in her eyes. Rolling onto her other side, she looks around the room. The vague memory of Zuko carrying her in here the night before comes to mind as she hides her face into the cool silk sheets. She was glad that Zuko had agreed to let her stay, even happier that he didn't push her too hard to find out what happened and why she was blubbering like a newborn.

"Lady Katara." A voice says, followed by a curt knock on the door. "Lady Katara, I have your lunch prepared for you."

"Come in." Katara says, sitting up in the bed and looking around the room. Was it already lunch time? She couldn't have possibly slept that long.

A young servant enters the room, carrying a tray full of food. "Fire Lord Zuko didn't want us to wake you, but you have been sleeping all day… He thought it was time that you ate."

Katara looks at the food that the servant had placed on the small table in the corner of the room, it looked delicious, but she didn't want to eat. "Thank you."

The servant bowed lowly before walking out of the room. Katara walks over to the table, knowing that she needed to put something in her body to nourish it. She takes a couple bites from the giant piece of bread, before the nausea hits her. Placing the bread back down on the plate, she sits down at the table and thinks about the chain of events that brought her here.

She kept wondering where she had gone wrong. What could she have done differently what would have kept Aang from cheating on her? As far as she knew, she had been a good girlfriend and a good friend to him since the day that they met. She had gone out of her way to make sure that he had everything he needed, she had stood by him through everything. Perhaps she hadn't given him the attention he wanted, the kind that he was getting from the other girls, as often as he wanted. He had never brought the subject up, but it was possible that she missed the signs. Maybe he wanted something different… What was so wrong with having her? She starts to cry again, going to the in suite bathroom she cleans herself up before going back to bed.

"They said you haven't eaten today." Zuko says, walking into the room late that night. He takes a seat on the edge of the bed. He can tell that she had been crying again, fresh tear marks trailed down her pretty face. "You need to eat something."

"I did eat." She says, rolling onto her side to face him.

"Two bites of bread don't count as eating."

Katara pulls the covers up to her chin, wrapping them closer to her body. "I'm not hungry, Zuko."

He was thankful that she had managed to find her voice again, but the fact that she wasn't eating was bothering him. He hoped that she hadn't come all the way from Agni knew where just to try to starve to death right in front of him. He wasn't going to let that happen. "Look, I haven't eaten yet. Why don't we go down into the city and find something to eat? There are some really good restaurants and food carts."

"I- I really don't feel like going into a restaurant right now." She says, her voice going up a few pitches as tears started to pool up in her eyes.

"Okay. Okay." He says quickly, not wanting her to start crying again. "I'll have them bring our dinner in here. Would you at least a broth if they made it for you?"

Katara is quiet for a long moment and Zuko thinks that she might not have heard him ask her the question. As he opens his mouth to ask her again, she gives him a small nod. He quickly rushes out into the hallway and places the order before she can change her mind. As he waits for the food to arrive, he tries asking her again about what had happened, but in only results in her tears.

She sips on her broth quietly as Zuko tells her about the current state of the Fire Nation. He hoped that she would join in on the conversation and start pointing out what he should be doing to fix the problems he was listing out for her. She remains silent, nodding every so often to something he said. At least she was getting something into her stomach, even if it was nothing more than a thin broth.

When they were done, he sat down on the bed beside her. "I'm sorry for whatever happened to you."

"It's not your fault." She replies, her voice small. Her blue eyes focus on the candlelight dancing on the bedroom wall. "It's mine."

"That can't be right." He says, shaking his head. This wasn't like her, she didn't do things that were bad enough to hurt others, nothing bad enough for her to make her so upset with herself. "What could you have possibly done?"

"I wasn't good enough." Tears start running down her cheeks, splattering on the sheets below her. She doesn't try to wipe her face, she just lets them run.

Zuko wraps his arms tightly around her as she goes into another fit of crying. His deep voice huskily whispers words of reassurance in her ear, making goosebumps appear along her skin. He promised that it wasn't her fault, that whatever happened would get better with time. She wasn't sure if she believed him, but the words were comforting.

The rising of the sun stirs Zuko awake the next morning. He rubs the heel of his hand against his good eye as he sits up in bed. He had fallen asleep in Katara's room once again. Pulling back on his shoes, he walks out of the room, nearly colliding with the maid who had come to bring Katara fresh linens. The young girl bows deeply, apologizing for disturbing him and hurriedly explains why she was there. Zuko waves her off, heading in the direction of his own room. There would certainly be talk in the kitchens today.

"It's time to get up." Zuko says, flinging back the heavy curtains to let the sunlight into his old bedroom. "You've been cooped up in here for two weeks now, it's time that you get back into the world." He pushes open the set of double doors that lead directly into his mother's garden, letting in the fresh air. He wouldn't say anything to her face, but the room was starting to stink. "We are going for a walk around the city today."

"I don't want to." Katara says, pulling the comforter over her head to block out the bright light that was pouring in through the window. She had scarcely been out of bed since he had brought her in here. She would get up to take a long soak in the tub or make use of the bathroom, but for the most part, she stayed in bed.

"I'm not asking if you want to do it." He says, trying his best to keep his voice stern, he wasn't sure if she would bother to listen to him but part of him hoped that she would. "You've been in here far too long. It's not healthy. We don't have to talk about anything you don't want to, but you will be coming out of this room."

She lets out a loud groan, burying her face into the sheets. Zuko sets a package on the end of the bed. He had a new outfit made for her after finding out that she only had a small bag that carried her belongings, he had attempted to ask her where everything else was, but that was only met with tears.

"Get dressed." He says pointedly. "I'll be back in half an hour. If you're not ready to go, I'll have the maids dress you."

Flinging the comforter down from her face, Katara gives him a death glare, but starts to get up anyway. Zuko lets out a small sigh of relief. He didn't want to fight with her to get her to leave the room and didn't really believe that any of the maids would be brave enough to try to force her to get dressed.

When he comes back to get her half an hour later, she is dressed in her new clothes. A blue outfit that closely resembled the red one that she wore on Ember Island, except that it had a sheer fabric that made a sash around her hips. Her hair was twisted into a knot on top of her head in the Fire Nation style. He gives her a small smile when she exits her bedroom.

"Let's get this over with." Katara says, adjusting her top.

Pulling the hood of his cloak over his head, Zuko takes Katara's hand pulling her towards the servants' entrance of the palace. Apparently, they would be sneaking out of the palace today instead of walking out the front door.

"I don't want everyone following us." He says, answering the question before she had the chance to ask.

They start their decent from the palace grounds to the city below them. The place was bustling with people doing their weekly shopping. Various vendors step towards the duo, offering them samples of their products. The smell of fresh baking bread floats through the air, making Katara's mouth water.

"If there's anything you want, just let me know." Zuko says, his fingers still entwined with Katara's. She wondered if he had forgotten that he was holding onto her. She didn't say anything about it, the touch of another person was comforting after spending six months alone. The tears start to prick at her eyes again, quickly blinking them away she gives Zuko a small smile. He looked like he was enjoying himself and she didn't want to ruin it for him.

They weave their way through the throngs of people, muttering apologies when they cut through those who were blocking the entire walkway with their conversations. That was one thing that annoyed Katara about those in the Fire Nation, they couldn't be bothered to move out of the way when people were trying to carry on with their own lives. "Where are we going?"

"Someone wants to see you. I promised that I would bring you by as soon as I could."

They eventually come to a stop in front of a large shop at the corner of town. The Jasmine Dragon was painted in perfect calligraphy on the sign that hung above the door. Katara smiles faintly.

"There you are." Iroh says, walking out the front door of the building. "I was beginning to think that Zuko would never bring you here."

"I told you Katara hasn't been well, Uncle."

"Which is why you should have brought her here sooner." Iroh chastises as he walks over to wrap Katara up in a bear hug. He smelled of Jasmine tea and lemon, a mixture that Katara found comforting. "Tea is the cure to heartache."

"I thought tea was the cure for fevers and nausea." Zuko says, trailing behind Iroh as the man leads them back into the teashop.

"Tea cures many ailments." Iroh says, before leaning over to whisper lowly to Katara. "Unless my nephew is the one making it for you."

Katara laughs, her hand covering her mouth. "It's good to see you again, Iroh. It's truly been far too long."

"It has." He agrees as the sit down in a quiet corner of the shop. The place was mildly busy, but most of the people were in the front half of the shop, giving them some privacy. "I'm sensing that you have just been through some hardships."

Katara's eyes turn to her lap where she was wringing the fingers of her left hand with the right. "It's been a rough few months for me."

She can feel Zuko's eyes on her. She still hadn't told him about what had exactly brought her to the Fire Nation. She had tried, but she was unable to make the words come out. She couldn't tell one of her best friends how she had screwed up and made Aang completely bored of her. How she had failed in the relationship. She didn't want him to look at her differently.

Iroh waves over a waitress who sets down a hot cup of tea in front of Katara. Lifting the cup from its saucer, she takes a long sip and feels her body begin to relax. Iroh really did make the best tea that she had ever head.

"It's easy to give into despair." The older man says, studying Katara's face. "The trouble is that when you slip down that road, you are giving into your lowest instincts. You need to hold onto hope."

Katara nods, the tears slipping down her face once more. She hated herself for crying. Maybe that stupid play that they had seen all those years ago was right about her… She jumps slightly when she feels Zuko's hand on top of her own. Taking a deep breath, she lets out the words that she had been holding in for two weeks. "Aang cheated on me."

Zuko chokes on his tea. She puts her hand on his back as he coughs, trying to fill his lungs with air. "Wh-what?" He asks, his voice scratchy. He reaches up to wipe the corners of his eyes. "When?"

Taking another long drink of her tea, she tries to detach from her emotions, so she can tell the story. She tells them about how Aang left her alone, about how she had fallen and hurt herself, about how she felt that she was going crazy when she talked to herself. She recalled the conversation with June and how she mentioned accepting her destiny. She told them about how Aang and how she had caught him with another girl and how she wasn't the only one.

The two men remained silent throughout the whole tale. She could feel the anger radiating off Zuko, a feeling that was almost electric. His hands were clinched into tight fists, his jaw locked. It was silent for a long time before Iroh broke the silence. "Destiny is a funny thing. You never know how things are going to work out. But if you keep an open mind and an open heart, I promise you will find your own destiny someday."

Neither one of them notice that Iroh was looking at their interlocked fingers as he spoke.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you did, don't forget to drop a comment. They mean the world to me and motivate me to write more. There is a lot more to be said while they are in the city, but I felt that it would make the chapter too long. Would you be okay with longer chapters or would you want to keep them about the same? How do you feel about Katara and Zuko's relationship? Are they getting too close, too soon?