A/N: Finally, an update. I was considering putting this thing on a permanent hiatus, but after revising a few points of the plot I've decided to push onwards. It's just too much fun.
Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar.
Katara released her hair from its braid, letting the waves fall messily about her pajamas. She jumped onto her bed with a small bounce on her knees before sprawling over the covers, reaching for a pencil and small notebook from her nightstand. She figured now would be a good a time as ever to really think about the message of "sing me down." Even though Toph's advice of just letting the answer flow to her seemed like a good idea, it just wasn't working for her. Katara wasn't the type to rely on abstract thought. She liked to know things rather than imagine them whenever possible.
She flipped through the pages, scratching down bits and pieces of nothing for about ten minutes before her mind began to drift. She had learned some interesting things today, after all.
"That…that conniving little…!"
Katara had slid into her seat at the lunch table next to On Ji, pulling a ham sandwich out of her paper bag. It was lucky that she and Sokka didn't have lunch with Aang, or her brother would never be able to devour the overly stuffed meat-on-meat sandwiches that he packed for himself every day. He had been sitting on the other end of the long table with some of his guy friends, entertaining himself with whatever boys with the maturity of six year olds did for fun.
On Ji raised an eyebrow, passing her a licorice stick.
"Well, you're certainly spirited today…"
Katara bit down on the candy, using the opportunity to regain control of her temper.
Sokka sauntered over, suddenly very interested in what his little sister had to say.
"Ooh, conniving. Duck and cover girls, she's pulling out the big guns. Who's conniving?"
She swallowed quickly, coughing a little.
"Azula Sozin! You should have seen her after choir today. She threatened me!"
"Huh. Fancy that. A Sozin threatening us. Déjà vu…"
"No. Well, yes. She was like Zuko. But better!"
"Well, yeah," On Ji had cut in, blinking at her incredulously. "Of course she was."
When the siblings just looked at her blankly, she shook her head at them.
"Jeez, are you guys just totally oblivious? Everyone who keeps up with gossip knows about the Sozin family rivalry. She's always one-upping him in everything. Rumor has it their dad's gonna leave the company to Azula, even though Zuko's older…"
There was a brief silence.
"Oh…"
Well, there wasn't much else to say to that. Sokka had sniggered a little.
It wasn't really all that surprising to her that she hadn't known. Even if the Sozins were a family that attracted a lot of attention, On Ji was probably overestimating the amount of people who knew about Zuko's personal problems, since the brunette was the type to keep up with every little tidbit of defaming information.
Katara's reverie was interrupted by her phone's musical ring. She rolled over and grabbed it, fully aware of how little she had gotten done on her assignment.
"Hello?"
"Hey, it's Aang. Just called to see what's up." His voice was carefully controlled.
"…Okay. I'm just trying to do an assignment for my Music class." She waited a few seconds for the real reason he had called.
"That's…cool. Listen, I was just…well, Sokka told me about Azula, and I wanted to apologize."
"Why would you need to apologize about that?"
"Um…well, it's kind of my fault. Mine and Grandpa's, I guess." His honest voice was suddenly anxious. "We got you wrapped up in our argument and then you were threatened. I just wanted to say-"
"No, no, it wasn't that bad! It's not like she threatened my life or anything. She basically said the same things Zuko did except…" she trailed off, deciding that given Aang's worried tone, "scarier" would be a bad word choice.
"I've been thinking about that time, too. Even something like that…well, it's not something you need to get involved in."
They were silent for a moment.
"Aang, I realize you're trying to protect me, but what you might not realize is that I want to be able to help."
"I know that! I just…it's not really your fight."
"But it can be." She laughed lightly. "You're expecting the rest of us to just sit by and let it not be our fight? The Sozins need to be stopped. That's important to you, right?"
For a moment the only sound was the slight rush of air from the speaker.
"The river – and everything else endangered by this – is very important to me. But…so are you guys."
He said it in such a sweet voice that she couldn't help but smile.
"Listen, there's nothing to worry about. You're not going to be able to stop us, and what's a protest of two people going to accomplish? You need people to support you. It'd be horrible if a bunch of strangers joined your rally and your friends didn't."
"Yeah…well, I guess you're right."
It wasn't hard to hear the happy tinge to his voice hidden behind the reluctance. They talked for a while before Katara insisted that she had to go to bed.
It was only as she flipped off her lamp and pulled up her covers did she realize the full meaning of what Aang had told her. He was worried about them. That meant that there had to be something to fear.
She rolled over onto her side and tried to keep her eyes shut. Great. This could be a long night.
Katara awoke a good half hour before her alarm rang the next morning, despite having gotten a limited amount of sleep. She got the distinct impression that something was wrong. Something hidden within layers of memory warned her that today wasn't going to be an ordinary day. What was the date…?
Oh. March seventh.
She sprang out of bed and hurried downstairs, making too much noise as she banged things together searching for a pan and the ingredients she wanted. Crap, where was the bacon? She could have sworn that they had just gotten some, a thick, juicy, expensive brand. Sokka's favorite. She had requested it specifically for today. How could she have forgotten? She had marked it on her calendar and everything.
A heavy bag full of oranges fell from the refrigerator, landing on her toe. She hopped madly for a few seconds, sucking air through her teeth as she restrained any noise that could wake –
"What's all this?" a craggy voice demanded sleepily.
"Ack, sorry I woke you, Gran Gran. I was just…" she lowered her voice even further, "making breakfast for Sokka."
Her grandmother's annoyed expression softened as she nodded, coming forward to show Katara where the bacon was hidden in the back of the refrigerator from her impatient brother.
"You're lucky that boy could sleep through Ragnarök."
They worked together, Kanna frying the bacon while Katara mixed pancake batter, pouring an obscene amount of chocolate chips into the concoction. Her stomach already felt sick, due to both her own forgetfulness and the date itself. March the seventh had not been a happy day for her brother.
Soon the smell of frying meat drew Sokka downstairs, clumsily rubbing at his eyes and dragging his bare feet along the linoleum. He flopped down at the table, immediately recommencing his sleep until the food was ready.
She watched him out of the corner of her eye. He seemed alright; maybe today wouldn't be as bad as she had thought. It had been two full years, after all. Then again, it was hard to tell in the early morning when her brother's reactions were basically all the same.
They served his food and he began eating heartily enough. She thought he moved a little bit more slowly than usual, but that could have just been her imagination.
Two years to the day since Yue died.
She had been his middle school crush, a dancer, the little girl he was always trying to impress. Katara had done her sisterly duties and teased him every chance she got, but that didn't stop him. He was more likely to announce a "You bet!" (or, when Gran Gran wasn't around, "Hell yeah!") to a round of "Sokka and Yue sitting in a tree" than a "shut up."
When he got into high school, he finally got her attention. She remembered thinking that his story was awfully romantic – he had asked her to a performance of The Nutcracker, much to everyone's surprise. No one suspected he'd be able to sit through it, even for a girl he liked who was fascinated by ballet. Somehow he managed, and came back with his head in the clouds and a new girlfriend.
A lot of boys had been after the beautiful girl, named for the moon due to some odd gene or defect that led her to be born with hair as white as snow. Katara could still remember Hahn's face when he realized that Yue had chosen Sokka over him. Even Sokka had seemed to be in a state of shock for awhile.
Then came the accident.
Katara hadn't been home most of the day, but she had come home to the devastating news that Yue had been involved in a hit-and-run collision. They visited her in the hospital, but only Sokka was allowed in with her family.
To this day, Katara didn't know what words passed between the two of them in that last hour, but she liked to imagine they had been uplifting. Sokka accepted her death in time, and the world went on. It seemed just like Yue to tell him to live his life to the fullest, or some other sentimental message for a boy she wished she really had had time to get to know.
It was such an odd, somehow poetic thing, she realized. They had barely started dating when it had happened. Who knew what their relationship could have become if it hadn't been cut so short?
Sokka caught her looking at him and gave her a quirky, reassuring smile.
"Thanks, sis. Gran Gran. Seriously."
She smiled.
Suddenly they heard the bang of the front door hitting the wall as someone swung it open without bothering with such a troublesome task as knocking.
"Yo!" Toph's cheerful voice preceded her into the kitchen.
"What are you doing here?" Katara called, surprised. "Any other day, and you would have woken Gran Gran."
"What, not happy to see me? 'Sides, I knew she'd be awake today." She sauntered into the kitchen, a nervous looking Aang in tow. She tilted her head to one side, listening for a moment before walking in Sokka's direction, putting her palms on the table and leaning forward towards his face.
"C'mon. We're going on vacation."
"…What?"
"You heard me. Let's head to the arcade. The mall. The skate park. The movies. Whatever. Let's just go."
Katara raised an eyebrow at Aang, who shrugged, then glanced awkwardly at Gran Gran, who was looking on impassively. Toph was obviously in one of her get-up-and-go moods, a sort of sweet attempt to make the somber day a little more cheerful in her own, very Toph-like way. But to suggest cutting school in front of their grandmother…
"Well, what are you waiting for? We've got the whole world! Katara can come too, if she doesn't get fussy about perfect attendance or whatever."
"Toph, I don't think this is an appropriate way to-"
"Please?" Sokka asked, throwing her off her guard.
Katara's eyes jumped to her brother, whose own gaze was glued on his grandmother. Of course, the idea seemed utterly ridiculous to her, but for him, the promise of an authority defying adventure…
She rounded on Aang.
"You're in on this too?"
"No! Well, kind of. Yes. Look, she dragged me into it…and it sounded exciting, you know?"
"Of course it did."
"Oh come on, don't make me feel guilty! It's for Sokka's sake."
"Guys, Gran Gran's not going to-"
"Just this once?" Sokka whined.
Impossibly, their grandmother's impassive face melted into another slight smile.
"If you get all of your work done…I suppose it won't hurt. Just this once."
Katara stared at Kanna in pure shock, unable to believe what she was hearing as Sokka whooped.
"But Gran Gran -"
"Your attendance is very good, thanks in part to me. I think every now and then a personal day wouldn't do much harm. Good for the health. I used to be quite the adventurer in my youth as well. But I must insist on you taking someone responsible along."
"Hey…" Aang muttered resentfully.
Sokka, when he was finished celebrating his good luck, turned his pleading eyes on Katara.
"C'mon, it'll be fun."
Toph snorted.
"Leave it. Sugarqueen over here's not gonna mar her record."
"Of course I'm not. It's a very irresponsible thing to do."
"More irresponsible than abandoning your brother?"
"That's not how it is and you know it! I just…I'm going to school."
"Yup. 'Course you are."
"Fine."
"Fine."
Fifteen minutes later, Toph, Aang, and Sokka were marching out the door, a grumbling Katara in tow.