After the Smoke Clears

Zuko and Katara and the end of the world.


Four.

+ Tales from Ba Sing Se: Katara Attempts to Have Breakfast.

Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA nor do I profit from this story.


The next time that Katara saw Zuko, he had already faded from her memory, colors dimmed from too many hours in the sun. She could no longer recall the exact tenor of his voice as her name rolled off of his lips or the precise way the steely glint shone in his golden eyes.

War demanded practicality, and Katara was no stranger to war. The fate of the world occupied nearly every waking moment.

During the last few months of running around the desert, she had seen things she had never hoped to see: rejects from the Spirit World, men buried alive in monstrous libraries sinking beneath the desert sands, her brother on cactus juice.

Some of the things still haunted her when she closed her eyes, some of the close calls where she had almost lost her life or worse, Aang or Sokka or Toph.

(Because she had to admit that Toph was now very much a part of the team, and more like her than she had been willing to admit. All of the wrong parts. Which is probably why they had had such a rocky start. Hah – rocky. Toph would punch her arm for that. Hard.)

But she willed the paralyzing fear away, because it just wasn't practical.

But, sometimes late at night, when she had a moment to indulge in catching her breath and attending to her own needs instead of those of the world, she could still remember the exquisite heat of his hands as they rested on her shoulders and the way her hand fit perfectly into his large, calloused palm.

After that, the weight in her chest felt lighter, even though she didn't quite understand why.

It wasn't as if she spent time dwelling on it – she had a world to save and people depending on her, the Last Southern Waterbender.

Whenever her resolve waivered, she thought of the barely audible sound of hot blood spilling onto once-pristine snow. Maybe she was only able to hear it because the frozen expanse sang in her veins, and she supposed that was the cost of her gift: that sound, which she hadn't been quite lucky enough to forget.

It was the memory of that soft trickle, resounding in her dreams, drowning out even the beating of her own heart, that had her springing up in bed, eyes rolling wildly and hands already calling moisture to her fingertips as the quiet dawn broke over the fortified walls of Ba Sing Se.

(ships ice cracking screaming red flames metal red blood flames find your father)

Katara gulped the air in loud, ugly breaths, eyes bulging as she surveyed her surroundings.

As she focused her vision on the gilded walls of their house in the Upper Ring, Katara willed her heartbeat to slow before she woke the earthbender sleeping next to her.

Her nightmares had gotten less frequent over the years, but they were a lasting reminder of the first time she had encountered the Fire Nation.

As if she had the luxury of forgetting that.

With a frustrated sigh, she kicked aside her remaining bed covers and stalked off to the bathroom. She knew there was no chance of her getting back to sleep; she might as well start the day. She was only mildly placated by the glorious invitation of running water and the thought of getting out of the house before Aang could tag along.

Even as the thought flitted through her mind, she frowned.

She wasn't being fair, and she knew it. Aang was her best friend, and La knew he had enough on his mind these days, especially when Appa had been missing.

Aang had just been a constant presence for the last few weeks, and too much togetherness wasn't good for anyone. It wasn't healthy. Neither was the way her skin would crawl when she felt his eyes on her in those moments when she had the distinct feeling that the Avatar was getting the wrong idea about their relationship - times when he stood a hair too close to her and allowed his hands to linger on her for half a beat longer than was polite.

She sighed. At the end of the day, he was her best friend, and for every uncomfortable moment, there was a landslide of effortless laughter to fill the emptiness she felt in her chest when he held her hand.

And he was growing up, she had to remember. He might have been raised by monks, but he was finally growing into himself, and a crush was normal. A crush was healthy. Just, why did it have to be her?

Maybe she would have to have a talk with him… But that was a conversation she would much rather not have that morning, so she quickly swirled the scented water around her body and slipped on a clean blue tunic and navy cropped pants. Both were fashioned from lightweight yet slightly coarse material and were edged in silver embroidery. This reclusive King Kuei was really pulling out all of the stops to impress them – with the exception of actually speaking to them – and she was starting to get unnerved with all of the finery.

They were in the middle of a war for La's sake.

Still, running water and laundry service?

Those were two things she could get used to.

You can get used to anything, a traitorous voice rang through her head, ruining the relaxing moment she had almost been having.

Rolling her eyes at how goddamn dramatic her thoughts seemed to be lately, she stepped lightly out of the bathroom, careful of waking any of her companions.

As she stalked down the hall like a panther-coon, she realized how good it felt to be sneaking around.

The last few weeks, she, Aang, Sokka, and Toph had been doing everything according to the rules because of the scrutiny they were under. She hadn't realized quite how suffocating it had been until that very moment, when she realized she found the simple act of sneaking down her own hallway to be refreshing.

It occurred to her – not for the first time – that she might be going insane.

But, she supposed with flying around the world on an extinct, magical bison, battling banished princes, and cooking for her brother for the past year and a half, it was bound to happen sometime.

Rolling her eyes for the second time in as many minutes, she continued to tip-toe down the hallway, through the living room, and out the side door.

Softly sliding the glass closed behind her, she let out the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding.

Spirits, it felt so good to just be by herself.

She was going to make the absolute best of this morning, and come back relaxed and refreshed, and then she was going to talk the rest of them into taking a field trip to Kuei's palace and demanding to speak with the Earth King.

Because this was getting absurd.

She strolled across the garden, savoring the feeling of the lush grass beneath her feet, and stopped next to the stone wall surrounding their property. A large shade tree was just outside of the wall and some of its branches hung close above her.

Katara glanced around for any sign that she was being watched – a constant, uneasy feeling she had since arriving in the Upper Ring. Seeing no one, she closed her eyes and concentrated on the moisture flowing through the tree.

She willed its branches to bend down to her, and with a groan, they did.

Still moving silently, she stepped lightly onto the branch and made quick work of climbing through the tree. Without making a sound, she dropped gracefully to the sidewalk outside.

Take that, Jo Dee, she thought with a smirk.

Katara spent the next hour wandering around the various shops in the Upper Ring, taking her time and browsing, savoring the feeling of being on her own time.

Soon, her stomach was rumbling and she kicked herself for not bringing a snack. Although some of the money that Jo Dee had provided clinked merrily in her pocket, she was not used to spending money frivolously.

Still, how nice would it be to have someone cook for her for a change? And no one had to know…

Her decision was made for her when she caught sight of two women walking out of a tea shop, pastries in hand.

Katara quickly made her way up the broad stone steps leading to the shop. Above the door was a meticulously painted sign bearing the name of the shop: The Jasmine Dragon. On either side were golden sculptures of dragons, shining proudly in the morning light.

Katara raised her eyebrow.

Weren't dragons a Fire Nation thing?

With a shrug, Katara stepped inside the teashop, figuring she might as well enjoy a quiet breakfast for the first time since, well, before she could even remember.

Quiet wasn't something she was able to often enjoy.

Katara strolled inside the shop, allowing her eyes to adjust from the bright sunlight to the dimmer lighting. She looked around at the plush cushions in varying shades of green and brown and thought it was quite cozy – for the Earth Kingdom at least.

Then she saw a ghost.

Wide, blue eyes met startled gold and Katara did the one thing she had sworn never to do again.

She ran.


+ Thank you for all of the reviews, you wonderful people!

xo Elle