This chapter is a bit of a filler, but it is important. There is fluff at the end, and I think you'll like it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender. It is the property of its creators and Nickelodeon.
Chapter 4: Problems and Solutions
Katara was preparing a large breakfast in the kitchen. On the counter were a lot of meat, courtesy of Sokka, and a couple of random vegetables, also courtesy of Sokka. She spent the first half hour trying to figure out what she could actually put in the meal, since her brother obviously didn't have any kind of sense when it came to picking out non-meat related foods. She eventually settled on stew, since it was really all she could make with what she had.
'Next time, I'm doing the shopping,' she thought.
As she prepared the stew, her thoughts stopped.
'Next time…' she thought, 'What are we going to do when this is over? We wouldn't have much of a reason to stay together, and travel, and camp, would we?'
Zuko's talk with her the night before made her begin to think of the future, but her thoughts were interrupted when Aang ran into the kitchen in a frantic hurry.
"Aang, what's going on?" she asked in a concerned voice.
"Katara, I need you!" he answered holding her arms roughly with a pleading look in his eyes.
Katara's face flushed at what Aang just did and told her, especially the last three words. She felt panic and frustration build up very quickly. Did Aang just forget about the conversation from last night?
"Aang we talked about this already," she began uncomfortably, "I already told you I'm-"
Zuko ran into the hallway, and came into full view of Katara, interrupting her. He looked the opposite direction, before looking in the kitchen.
"There you are," he said in a frustrated voice as he caught sight of Aang.
He walked angrily toward the young Avatar when Katara stood between them.
"What's going on?" she demanded in a low voice.
"He's crazy!" shouted Aang.
"I'm not crazy," Zuko corrected, "You're just too lazy to do the drills."
"Only because you made them harder than they already are," retorted his young student.
Aang's comment made Zuko's good eye twitch. However, he saw Katara, and he took a deep breath to calm down and looked Aang in the eye.
"It's not that bad," he said in a strained voice.
"Going from twenty hot-squats to one hundred is too much. Especially since I have to do sit ups, dragon lunges, and push ups right after that," complained Aang.
"I do that same amount every morning, and you know what? I still end up beating you in sparring practice," shot back Zuko, tossing his newfound self-control to the winds.
"Enough, both of you!" shouted Katara before becoming calm, "Zuko, I know you mean well by making things more challenging, but you need to ease up on Aang, he's not you. Start with something smaller like fifty, and work your way up from there."
Aang snickered a bit, but Katara whirled to Aang, causing him to silence himself.
"And Aang, Zuko's your instructor; you have to do whatever he says, and not complain about it. It's almost summer's end, so it's crunch time. Do you understand?"
Aang nodded, and Zuko sighed.
"…Sixty for each drill, and no lower," said Zuko.
"…Ok," groaned Aang, "I'll see you later Katara."
She shifted uncomfortably, but smiled. Aang walked away, looking at the ground, and Zuko turned to face Katara.
"I know you mean well, but you shouldn't coddle him like that," he told her, "He needs to understand that things will only get harder from this point on."
"I know," she replied, "But he needs the support, even if I..."
She imagined the moment in the playhouse when Aang tried to kiss her for a brief instant, and felt uncomfortable.
"Katara?" asked Zuko.
"How are you feeling?" she asked quickly.
"Excuse me?" replied Zuko, surprised from the suddenness of the subject.
"Last night? When we… you know talked," she said staring at the floor, her cheeks a little pink.
"Oh… um, fine… thanks for you know… staying with me… and talking and all," said Zuko stumbling with his words, "I… I've got to train Aang."
"Yeah, well… um, have fun," said Katara.
Zuko left the kitchen quickly, and Katara began to work on the stew a little bit more. She threw some bones in the water, and began to cut potatoes and carrots. Last night was crazy, and it still rang through her mind like a gong. The thoughts weren't as strong, but they still hummed in her mind.
She thought spending time with Zuko, a good night's rest, and cooking would take her mind off of Aang, but he was still there. His outburst earlier on how he needed her brought everything she tried so hard to forget back into the forefront of her thoughts. He and his attempt to make contact with her lips last night unsettled her, and confusion kicked back in.
'Aang…' she thought, "What am I going to do…"
"Hey Katara-"
"WAAAH!" she yelped as she looked around to see Suki.
"Um… what's for breakfast?" she asked.
"Oh," said Katara embarrassed, "Stew."
"What kind of stew?" asked Suki.
"Meat and potato, minus the meat for… Aang," she replied as she put all of the potatoes in the pot.
"Oh, ok," said Suki.
She looked at Katara, and saw that something was bothering her. Katara sounded her usual self, but her body language was a completely different story. She was holding the soup ladle more tightly, and stirring the liquid meal with more vigor than usual. She was tapping her feet very lightly, but enough that it would be noticeable. But the one feature that told her there was something wrong was Katara's eyes. Her head faced the stew, but her eyes were staring at some random pots on the side. Suki's concern made her clear her throat, loudly, so as to get Katara's attention.
"Yes, Suki?" she replied.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes, why?" asked Katara.
"Oh, just, well… it just seems like something is bothering you. What's the matter?"
"Nothing, and if there was, it's nothing I can't handle," she replied.
Suki looked at her friend, and didn't believe a word she said. She could tell something wrong with Katara. She had seen Zuko leave the kitchen earlier, and she figured that Zuko may have something to do with it.
"So, is the 'nothing' Zuko?" she asked.
"What? Zuko? No, why?" she asked more quickly than she normally would.
"Oh, just wondering," said Suki catching Katara's unusually fast response, "I mean he did just walk out of here, and you seem distracted. Did something happen?"
"Oh that? Zuko stepped up Aang's training regiment, and I told him he was being too hard. I mean I know he does hundreds of exercises in the morning, but that doesn't mean Aang could suddenly do it," explained Katara, before she returned her attention to cutting a carrot for the stew.
Suki looked at her thoughtfully. Her tone was different at the mention of Zuko, and she had begun to wonder. Suki knew this would go off topic, but her curiosity demanded answers.
"You know, you two have gotten quite close over the past few days. You and Zuko I mean," began Suki.
"Er… I guess," said Katara, "Between the field trip, as Aang put it, and the party, I guess it's only natural that I would be friends with Zuko."
"Or, perhaps…" she began, "more than friends?"
Katara almost cut her fingers when she heard the last three words of Suki's sentence.
"E-Excuse me?" she stammered.
"I mean, it would make sense," continued Suki.
"We're just friends," she said quickly.
"You have been spending a lot of time with him lately," she added, ignoring Katara's words.
"I spend a lot of time with you guys too, you know," she shot back.
"Well Sokka's your brother, Toph and I are your girl friends, and Aang is your student, so it's perfectly logical. But Zuko…" she trailed off, "now that's really something else."
"You know what Suki, you're worse than Toph," said Katara "There is nothing going on between me and him. We are just two people who have gotten past our differences and are now friends. So please, just drop it."
Suki gawked at Katara's response.
"I suppose you're right," said Suki sounding disappointed.
Katara gave a sigh of relief as she returned to cooking, missing a mischievous smile from her friend.
"But still… I can see a lot of things girls would find appealing in Zuko," said Suki.
Katara rolled her eyes and chose to ignore her.
"I mean, of course, he's a prince, but he's also got the whole 'mysterious loner' thing going for him too. It gives him that unknown dark side that lurks beneath the surface. And speaking of surfaces, let's face it; he's got great muscles, shaggy black hair…"
"It's not going to work Suki," reaffirmed Katara, "I'll agree with you in that there's more to him underneath the surface, but that's it."
Suki frowned a bit, but quickly smiled as she remembered something one of her fellow warriors did while fighting in the Earth Kingdom that made her realize her feelings for Sokka.
"You cannot tell me you never even once thought about him like that, can you? Being held in his arms looking into his dark brown eyes…"
"His eyes are am… ber."
Katara caught herself, but it was too late; she triggered the trap her friend set. She turned around slowly, and she almost gasped in horror as Suki leaned in with a smile on her face.
"I'm… very observant," said Katara, her cheeks red with embarrassment.
"Uh-huh," said Suki.
"We've fought dozens of time, when he chased Aang! There were lots of close encounters!" she said almost desperately.
"I see," said Suki, "So, how close were they?"
"Shouldn't you be fawning over my brother?" said Katara before she realized the awkward statement she just said, "Actually, forget that last one. I don't even want to think about what you do with my brother."
"Ok, fine… I'll leave you alone now," said Suki with a fox-like grin.
Katara got back to work as Suki walked out of the kitchen door. But before she left, she turned to face the waterbender before going to the courtyard.
"Just you, the stew, and Zuko's amber eyes."
Katara shot a glare over her shoulder, but Suki was long gone. She was fuming, and began to cut the carrot a lot faster, imagining Suki as the carrot. Toph teased her on a regular basis, but now Suki was picking on her. What was this, Karma? Was this the universe's way of saying, "Hey Katara you were so mean to a guy who was really nice and good, so we're going to torment you by having two of your friends poke fun at you for the rest of the journey to stop the Fire Lord and return balance to the world," or were they teasing her just for kicks.
"Jerks…" she muttered as she tossed the carrots and potatoes in with the boiling meat, "First Toph says I'm jealous of that girl-I mean Jin, and now Suki thinks I'm attracted to Zuko. What's next? Is Sokka going to come in here and bother me too?"
"Hey Katara, what's for breakfast?" asked Sokka as he stood in the door.
"GO AWAY!" she shouted at him, still holding the knife in her hand.
Sokka just stared at her, and then the knife and back to her face again. He scooted away to the courtyard with an expression of fear and horror on his face. Katara turned her attention to the stew and began to stir it feverishly with the ladle.
xXxXx
Aang sat on the fountain exhausted, and Toph began to poke his shoulders, enjoying every little wince of pain he voiced out. Sokka and Suki were giggling with one another, and Zuko was sitting on the fountain with his arms crossed.
"Whoa, what did you do to him, Sparky?" asked Toph, finally bored with poking Aang's shoulder.
"Nothing, I just stepped up the exercises, and made him take the sparring more seriously," said Zuko.
"It wasn't like that," protested Aang, "You're understating everything. You're worse than Toph."
Toph grinned.
"Sooo, Sparky Hotman's training is more intense than mine, eh?" she asked devilishly, "Thank you Twinkletoes."
"For what?" asked Aang with a little worry in his voice.
"For letting me know I was getting soft. I'm not going to let Sparky here outdo me. From now on, we train at my level," she said proudly.
Aang could've sworn his soul was about to leave his body, and Sokka laughed at the expression on Aang's face as he heard Toph's words.
"Breakfast is ready!" said Katara as she carried a large serving tray with six bowls in it.
Katara set the tray down, and handed out the bowls. She gave the first three to Sokka, Toph, and Suki before giving the fourth, meatless one, to Aang.
"Thanks Katara," he said, "Just the way I like it."
Katara was a little unsettled by Aang's tone, but being in front of the rest of the group, she smiled in response. That is, until Toph poked him in the shoulder, and his body tensed in pain. Katara looked at Zuko with an angry expression on her face.
"I thought I told you to go easy on him," she said.
"I… I did," said Zuko, "I cut down on the exercises just like you asked, but you… um… didn't say anything about the sparring practice."
Katara ignored the chuckles from Toph, Sokka, and Suki, and gave Zuko his breakfast, a little irritated that he decided to use a loophole in her words. Katara sat down cross-legged, and ate her stew. She was halfway through it all when she caught Aang looking at the ground.
"Aang, what's wrong?" she asked.
"Toph wants to outdo Zuko," said Aang, hoping for Katara's intervention.
"Well, Zuko does have a point," she continued catching his attention, "We're going to have to step up the intensity of the training."
Aang's face fell and Zuko had a confused look on his face. Didn't she just say that he shouldn't be too hard on the kid, and now she wants to be a little tougher on Aang. He would never understand the logic of girls.
"But, we should do some reviews in waterbending, as a break," added Katara.
"Oh, ok," said Aang smiling, "I could use to time with you… to catch up."
Katara tensed a little. Part of her felt she was being paranoid; that the events of last night were simply getting to her better judgment. But another part felt that Aang was trying to pick up where he left off. Regardless of which side was right, she was resolved to make the next hour or two after breakfast purely about training. After finishing their breakfast, Katara led Aang to the beach, and they both got into their practice outfits. Aang was cheery, and Katara looked at him with some concern.
"Aang, you need to focus, this may be a break, but it doesn't mean I'm going to make this easy," said Katara firmly.
"Ok Katara," said Aang almost nonchalantly. "But before we do, do you think we could ta-."
Katara knew what he was going to say, but she didn't give him the opportunity. She raised her hands, summoning a massive torrent of water from the sea behind her. Aang quickly got into his stance as he saw the giant, billowing tower of water rear up like a dragon.
"Ready Aang?" was all she said before striking… hard.
xXxXx
Aang had a very rough day. Zuko's training was hard enough, but Katara's was particularly brutal. And to top it off, Toph made good on her word that her training was more intense than Zuko's, and it turned out to be worse than Katara's. While he knew his teachers meant well by working him hard, he was starting to think that he wouldn't get the chance to fight the Fire Lord at this point. He'd probably die of exhaustion before it happened.
Zuko decided that Aang should just go to sleep, and Katara got some fruits from a nearby tree and put them in a bowl for him in his room whenever he got hungry. She simply set the bowl down, and left the room just as he was about to try to talk to her. Katara had to lie to him, saying that the others needed help with dinner, and Aang felt disappointed as she went on the way to the dinner area. That event confirmed her suspicions; Aang was trying to reopen the conversation she was trying to avoid. She didn't feel ready to confront him, and walked quickly to the kitchen. She was even more stressed than she was during breakfast, and had the sudden urge to cook something, feeling she had to back up her lie.
However, the truth was that Sokka had gotten Zuko to cook some of the meat that he bought for dinner, seeing as how Aang wasn't around. Katara wanted to cook, but when Zuko said she didn't have to worry about it, she insisted she at least help with the preparations. Zuko was surprised at her attitude, and caved into her request. He was actually grateful he let her help since the food tasted a lot better than usual.
After dinner, Zuko and Katara were washing the dishes just as they did before. It was very quiet between the two until she looked over to him.
"Hey Zuko?" asked Katara.
Zuko looked at Katara, "Yes?"
"Is there a bath around here? I could use a nice warm soak after today," said Katara.
"No," answered Zuko.
"Wait what?" she asked in disbelief, "Why not? How can you not have baths in the royal estate?" she asked.
"Well… we don't really need them, since we have a hot spring in the back area," said Zuko.
"…You do?" said Katara, surprised.
"Well, yeah," said Zuko as if it was no big deal, "In fact I was there this afternoon while you and Toph were training Aang."
"And you just kept it all to yourself?" asked Katara in an irritated voice.
"Well, you didn't really ask?" said Zuko lamely.
"Well, could you please show me where the hot springs are?" she asked.
"Uh… yeah," said Zuko.
Zuko and Katara finished cleaning before he led her to the hot spring area. He led Katara through halls that were deeper into the estate, and she couldn't help but be curious about the things she saw. There were old tapestries, ink scrolls, and an eerie monkey statue with red ruby eyes and teeth that looked oddly familiar. Zuko stopped at a sliding door with shelves on the side.
"This is where you put your clothes," said Zuko pointing at the shelves before opening the door.
"And this is where you bathe," said Zuko.
Katara saw the very large, outdoor pool of water with what seemed like a withered cherry blossom tree over it, and a half-moon hanging over the sky. Steam was radiating from it, and Katara's heart felt like it was doing somersaults. She had realized that she had not bathed since they fled the Western Air Temple from Azula, and seeing this made her quickly give Zuko a hug.
"Thanks, now get out," she said before playfully shoving him away.
Zuko cracked a smile.
"Try not to spend too much time in there, or you'll turn as red as a lobster-crab," said Zuko, "I'll check on you in an hour."
When Zuko was out of sight, Katara began to disrobe all but her under wrappings. She put her clothes on the shelf before going into the warm, steamy water. The heat coursed through her, and she felt herself relax for several minutes. The steam entered into her nose, and her mind simply melted away.
"This is the best," she sighed as she closed her eyes and reclined, "No Aang, no Sokka complaining, no Toph and Suki bothering me… just comfortable heat."
"Don't speak too soon Sugar Queen."
Katara shot up, and saw Toph and Suki in their wrappings jump into the warm pool of water. Katara was about to object when Toph easily made herself comfortable, and Suki plunged into the water to let it soak into her hair.
"What are you guys doing here?" demanded Katara as she began to become irritated again.
"Relax," said Toph, "We interrogated Zuko into telling us where this super, sweet place was."
"It's so nice to have our own personal hot spring," said Suki.
"So much for a little alone time," she muttered under her breath.
"Sorry Katara," said Suki, "But since we're all alone… maybe we, that is Toph and I, could talk about your about a certain someone."
Katara's good mood was going away very quickly.
"Do you like Sparky or what?" said Toph bluntly.
"What? NO!" said Katara, "Zuko is simply a friend, so would you quit with your badger-moling already?"
"Oh puh-lease," said Toph, "You were totally jealous when Zuko was saying that whole Jin story."
"I was not," said Katara, "It was just awkward hearing it, that's all."
"You caught my mistake about Zuko's eye color," added Suki, "I mean, knowing something like that just reeks of intimacy."
"Zuko used to be our sworn enemy, of course I would have some close encounters with him," said Katara.
"Oh," said Toph, "How close are we talking about, eh?"
"Not you too," said Katara, "And our encounters were not in the way you're thinking."
"You mean it wasn't like the little rendezvous you and Zuko had last night," said Toph.
Katara turned red, and Suki couldn't tell if she was blushing, mad, or if it was just the steam from the springs.
"Wow Katara," said Suki amazed, "The field trip I could imagine, but a rendezvous?"
"We did not have a rendezvous," she protested.
"Uh-huh. Did you forget I could feel vibrations from like, really far away," reminded Toph, "First Zuko leaves, then after about ten minutes you leave, then a long time later, both of you return at the same time. And you're telling me that's not a rendezvous?"
"He was upset about that stupid play, I talked with him, and we just looked at the scenery for a while," said Katara, "It's not like something happened."
Toph grew a devilish grin, and Suki chuckled. Katara had had enough, and she stood up over them.
"Can't you guys just leave me alone? I am sick and tired of all the conflicted feelings I've been feeling since that stupid play, and you two teasing me about Zuko is not helping at all!"
Katara was on the verge of crying, and Toph and Suki immediately went serious.
"Can't you see I just want a little time for myself? A lot of weird stuff has been happening and I need some time to think," she said before sitting back down on a rock.
Suki gently placed a hand on Katara's shoulder.
"What happened Katara?" asked Suki, "What feelings are you talking about?"
Katara shied away, facing the opposite direction.
"You can tell us, it's just us girls here," said Suki.
"Yeah, besides, whatever it is, if it's so bad that your heartbeat is going crazy just mentioning it you should get some outside help. Thinking about it isn't going to cut it," said Toph in an unusually comforting voice.
"You wouldn't understand," snapped Katara.
"Not with that attitude, and especially if you don't tell us," retaliated Toph.
"Please Katara," said Suki.
Katara thought for a moment. This never happened before. She was always the one who offered the shoulder to cry on, the one to lend an ear to whatever problem plagued a person's mind, but now the roles were reversed and it made her very uncomfortable. She looked to her friends and even though she didn't want to talk about it, she got the feeling she wouldn't have much of a choice. Toph wouldn't let her get away with a lie, and neither would Suki let her weasel her way out of something this bad.
"Promise you won't tell?" she asked them.
"We promise," said Suki.
"Earthbender's honor," said Toph.
She took a deep breath.
"It's Aang," she finally said.
She told them all about the incident at the playhouse, and how it resulted. She also said how it was affecting her behavior around Aang, how he seemed like he wanted to talk about it again even after she told him it wasn't the best time, and how she had to lie to him just to avoid the question.
"So you see now why I wanted to have some time for myself," said Katara.
"Oh… we're sorry Katara. We didn't know you felt like you were under so much pressure," said Suki apologetically.
"Yeah, but at least you got it off your chest," said Toph.
"I don't know… it helps, but what should I do? I don't want to feel uncomfortable around Aang. It's just wrong," asked Katara.
"Well…" began Suki, "The best way to know is to first figure out how you really feel about Aang. I mean, do you care about him?"
"Yes, of course I do," said Katara, "We're friends after all."
"Now, do you love him?" rephrased Suki, "And if not, is there a part of you that thinks you could become more than friends."
Katara opened her mouth, but couldn't find the words.
'Do I love Aang?' she thought.
That seemed like a silly question; who wouldn't love him. He was everything that a girl could possibly ask for. He was sweet, kind, always there for her whenever he was needed, and he was the Avatar, if she needed a superficial reason. He was a better person than her; he could forgive people that probably didn't deserve it, and he retained his innocence, something she lost when her mother died.
He was always the sweet and goofy kid that had fun. Yes, he had his moments of growth and enlightenment, and he did approach problems as an adult from time to time. But he would always revert back to his childlike behavior.
'That's the problem,' she finally thought.
It was great that Aang would always remain pure, but it also caused problems. He didn't take things seriously when he had too, he would run away when backed into a corner, and he was prone to lash out when things never went the way he wanted. Could he change though? Could he mature? Not overnight; it took Jet and Zuko months to change. Aang could change, could grow into adulthood, but what kind of man would he be like? There were too many uncertainties with Aang, especially from this point on.
"Katara?" said Toph.
Katara looked at her friends. They had worried looks on their faces, and she closed her eyes in thought. She took a deep breath and muttered the one word she had been too afraid to say.
"…No," she uttered in a cracked voice.
Toph and Suki's eyes widened. They got their answer.
"No?" asked Suki, "So…"
"I care about Aang," said Katara, "I really do, but I can't imagine being with him… like that. And as for the possibility of something in the future… it's kind of hard to imagine. To me, he will always be the little kid I found in the iceberg, my best friend, and my student. Does that make me a horrible person?"
"No," said Toph, "It makes you an honest person. I'm not going to pretend I know everything, but you should really tell Aang what you told us, and soon."
"Can't I just tell him after the comet?" asked Katara hopefully.
"Kyoshi, no," said Suki, "If you do that, then it will really hurt Aang. He'll have been expecting you to be with him by that time, and it would be so much worse. It's better to do it soon, and end any anticipation that he has now. That way, his feelings won't be hurt that badly."
"But it seems so cruel," said Katara, "He's lost so much already."
"Well, love can be cruel," said Suki, "And if you truly love Aang, you need to tell him your true feelings about him, or else you'll lose him. It will hurt, but he'll understand in time."
Katara was quiet for a while, but she sighed and got up.
"Thanks for the advice," said Katara sincerely, "But I think it's time I go to sleep, I'm tired."
Suki gave her a quick hug.
"Right, you should rest," said Suki before letting her go, "And we are sorry for bothering you like that, right Toph? Toph?"
"Hm? Oh yeah, super sorry," said Toph.
Suki shot her a look, but Katara smiled. She knew Toph was sorry, and she also knew she would never really say it to her unless it was a severe enough matter.
She left her two friends in the springs, and bent the water off her body, hair, and wrappings. Katara went for her clothes, put them on, and went to her room.
She felt as though a great burden in her heart was slowly lifting away. She had come to terms with her feelings thanks to her friends, but she knew what she had to do in order to remove the burden completely.
Suki and Toph were right. She had to tell Aang how she felt sooner rather than later, but with every solution, another problem emerges. She didn't know how to without crushing him, and tried to think of different scenarios on how to do it. However, they all ended with him either being heartbroken or throwing a fit of rage and betrayal. She could feel a hot, prickling sting growing in her eyes as tears began to form at the fear of losing her best friend as she walked through the dark halls of the estate.
"Katara?"
Her thought stopped as she looked up to see Zuko walking toward her.
"You're done," he said surprised, "I was about to check up on you and… wait, are you crying?"
Katara wiped her tears.
"No… I just had something in my eyes," she responded lamely.
Zuko did not buy it.
"Katara, I admit, I don't have a firm grasp on a lot of things, but I know crying when I see it," said Zuko trying to humor her, but to no avail.
"What's wrong?" he asked softly.
"Nothing, I'm fine," she said.
"I don't believe you. Something is bothering you, and-" began Zuko but Katara just gave him a look.
Her eyes pleaded to him, begged him to just leave her alone. Zuko hated when people did that, especially when said people were girls. There was something about how they did that look that made him lose his resolve to get to the heart of the issue, or to turn a blind eye. He sighed in defeat.
"I understand," he said, softening his expression, "But I'm not letting this go. We'll talk about it later… when you're ready."
"…Thanks," she whispered.
She began to walk away when Zuko stepped in front of her and gently pulled her back into an embrace.
"Zuko!" she squealed in surprise.
He gently held her close to him.
"Zuko… what… what are you doing?" she asked slightly dazed.
"Um… I'm trying to comfort you?" he replied sheepishly.
He let her go, and ran his hand through his hair. She looked at him as if he grew a second head.
"Sorry, it's just something my mom used to do to make me feel better when I was a kid. I thought… you know… it would work for you, but I guess I have, um… pretty bad timing," he explained.
"You're right," said Katara with a trace of a giggle before her cheeks flushed, "But it was a nice gesture."
Zuko was embarrassed at the fact that he had embarrassed himself like that.
"…Well," began Zuko as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Um… at the risk of making this more awkward than it needs to be, would you… like it if I took you to your room? I mean, not like need you need it, you know where it is… and all. I just think it would be better if you had some company… right now"
Katara was surprised at the offer, and laughed a bit.
"Fine," said Zuko walking away, but Katara tugged his sleeve.
"How could I refuse such an offer from a noble prince?" she said jokingly.
Zuko's cheeks went red and made a wry smile before he led Katara to her room. She followed, and when they arrived, he opened her door for her, and she told him to remember that Suki and Toph were in the hot spring, and that he should check up on them later. Zuko bid her goodnight, and closed her door gently.
Katara went onto her bed, and felt her heavy eyelids slowly close. She didn't know why, but all her troubles seemed so far away ever since Zuko's awkward attempt to cheer her up. She didn't get much time to think about it as sleep took her, and she fell into its comforting bliss.
Was it nice, rushed, tell me what you all think.
Thank you for reading and please review.