All right everyone! Happy Holidays/New Year (Even if this is late)!!!!! Hope you enjoy this chapter and yay to me for actually updating reasonably. XD
IMPORTANT NOTE: Ok, so this takes place after The Boiling Rock, but NOTE THIS: Hakoda is not sitting with the Gaang while they eat, cause that would be frickin' awkward. You'll see. Suki is here too even if I don't reference her. I kinda wanted to do a Boiling Rock chapter but then the Zutara ness would take forever.
THANK YOU TO: All my reviewers, of course (I think I thanked you all personally…I hope I did), but ESPECIALLY AnnaAza for giving me an idea/suggestion. I hope this is up to par with what you wanted…
Disclaimer: I don't own ATLA. That's probably why I turn into a scary monster whenever it's that time of the month.
Today, Katara was excited. Very excited. Everyone would have a special treat tonight.
Since food had started running low, Katara had gone out to collect some more. She had gone out to an unfamiliar part of the forest, so it was a big surprise when she had fallen off a cliff. Fortunately, she hadn't fallen too far, and it would be easy to climb back up; there were vines and footholds. Before she did however, Katara's curiosity had gotten the best of her and she had explored a bit. After a while, she had decided to head back when she stumbled upon a mango tree.
Katara had squealed in joy, collecting as many as would fit into her sack, and quickly climbed up the cliff, running back to camp with a smile on her face
~~~~Dinnertime~~~~
As Katara waited for the soup to finish cooking, she counted the number of mangos she had gotten. With increasing pleasure she counted one mango for everyone, even herself.
Soon the smells of the food attracted everyone to the courtyard and not a minute later, the soup was ready. Everyone eagerly scrambled into line, holding their bowls out like starved children. Katara ladled soup into each and every bowl, and tried not to dwell on the fact that Zuko was the only one who said, "Thank you." After everyone was served, she joined them, sitting between Toph and Teo.
"Mmmm…this is great Sugar Queen," Toph exclaimed, and Katara smiled, ignoring the fact that Toph was slurping up her soup in a horrible display of manners.
"What?! No meat?!" Sokka cried, but before Katara could say anything, Toph moved her foot, sending him face first into his bowl. Everyone laughed comfortably, and Katara smiled contentedly.
When everyone had finished, Katara collected the bowls, and retrieved the mango bag.
"Surprise!" she called, while tossing a mango to her friends and Zuko. Exclamations of delight rose while everyone bit eagerly into their fruits. All except a certain firebender. And for some reason, this annoyed Katara to no end. Standing up, she walked over to the prince, with a glare on her face.
"Are mangos not good enough for you, Your Highness?" The sarcasm was not lost on him.
"Sorry, I don't like mangos." Zuko wasn't in a good mood either.
"Who doesn't like mangos?" Katara asked with a snort. Zuko's eyes narrowed, but he kept his calm tone.
"I apologize if I don't enjoy eating every single edible thing in the world."
"Do you know what it took to get these mangos? I climbed down and up a cliff so you could enjoy a small luxury! Who knows the next time you'll be able to eat stuff like this again? If you can even eat again…"
"You know the way, you could make another trip, or tell someone else the way. I'll just eat something else." As soon as the words left Zuko's mouth, he knew he had made a mistake. Katara narrowed her eyes and her face turned into a scowl. All of a sudden, all her bottled up feelings toward the firebender, the betrayal, the confusion, and all the events that had happened since he joined, everything—BURST.
"Oh, so I'm supposed to spend my time finding food you enjoy. I'm supposed to spend my days slaving away to bring you five course meals."
"That's not what I meant—"
"So what do you mean, Zuko? When will we finally know what you mean? What did you mean when you betrayed us in Ba Sing Se and joined your crazy family, hmm? And then you come here, spouting stuff about teaching Aang firebender and destiny and how you've 'changed' after years of being our enemy and who cares what else? You ask us to accept you and even after all you did, chasing us all over the world, turning us paranoid, helping Azula nearly KILL AANG, we took you in. And after I nearly kill myself to bring everyone, even your lowly, undeserving self, a little treat, you suddenly decide not to like mangos! I don't believe it! No matter how insane your family is, didn't your dad ever teach you respect?"
Katara stopped, panting, eyes glaring at the firebender. Zuko stood up in anger at the mention of his father. No matter how horrible he had been in the past, and even if this girl had the right to be angry at him, she had no right to falsely accuse him.
"Respect? Oh, yeah, my dad taught me respect. He gave me a lesson I'd never forget. But did your dad teach you respect?" He ignored Katara's indignant protests and kept talking. "Let's assume he did. How did he teach you? Did he give you meaningful talks? Did he scold you if you were disrespectful? I bet he did because your dad loves you. He sure as heck didn't think you were a failure, a DISGRACE to the family."
At this, Katara's eyes widened and she took a step back. Zuko took a step forward.
"Would you like to know how my father 'taught' me respect? HE BURNED MY FACE!" Zuko yelled, furiously pointing to his scar. Katara slumped down with a look of complete shock and guilt. She tried to say something, but the words died on her tongue.
That's why he seemed so helpful in Ba Sing Se…
And for once, feelings of hate didn't stir in Katara as she thought back to their time in the catacombs under the Impenetrable City.
"He challenged me to an Agni Kai when I was only 13…just because I spoke against one of his general's plans to use many soldiers as bait…to send them on a suicide mission!" A harsh laugh escaped him as he shook his head and brushed past Katara, muttering, "Almost makes me think what my mother would do if he hadn't banished her."
Katara hesitated, then turned around to see Zuko storm out of sight. She turned back and stared at the fire, not meeting anyone's eyes. It took just about a minute for her to decide what to do.
Zuko stood on the banks of the river that flowed lazy by the temple. His anger was ebbing away and he was starting to regret yelling at Katara. She's sure to forgive you now, he thought sarcastically. Frustrated, he picked up a small rock at his feet and flung it into the water, strangely satisfied when it made a large splash.
"You know, the rock never did anything to you," came a voice from behind him. Zuko whipped his head around.
"Kata—"he started to say, but she waved her hand, silencing him. Katara walked forward, eyes on the river, hands crossed over her chest as if she was cold. The two stood there, staring at the water before them. After what seemed like forever to Zuko, Katara spoke.
"Whatever happened in your past, it…it doesn't excuse your actions." Yes it does…
She took a deep breath while Zuko stood their holding his.
"I'm sorry for yelling and bringing up…bad memories." Katara's eyes started watering but she kept talking even as the hot tears started falling. "At least your mom could still be alive…I just…I just wish I had more time with mine and had told her I loved her…the last words I said to her were 'I'm scared'…Damn the man that killed her! Damn him, damn him, DAMN HIM!" she screamed, and the water of the river started rippling and churning in a response to her anger. She had almost started sobbing but pulled herself together and wiped her eyes.
"This doesn't mean I've forgiven you, but…" Katara made as if to touch Zuko's scar, but pulled her hand back.
"Good night," was all she said and left.
Zuko let out his breath and touched his scar, wondering why he felt disappointed she hadn't. He looked back at the river, which was calm now, but still held traces of froth from Katara's outburst.
It seems all of our arguments start or end with our parents… Zuko thought absently, then his eyes widened and he nearly fell in the river at the sheer brilliance of the idea that had struck him. He ran off to find Sokka.
~~~~10 Minutes Later~~~~
Zuko stood at Sokka's bedroom door and knocked. All he got was a groan.
"Some of us enjoy our sleep…"
Zuko rolled his eyes and let himself in. Sokka was blinking himself awake, clutching a pillow covered in slobber.
"What d'you want?" Sokka asked, yawning.
"This is going to seem completely random, but I need you to tell me how your mother died."
Sokka was wide awake in an instant. He asked no questions, just started off with, "It's not a day I like to remember…"
And I think we all know what'll happen in the next chapter. XD I don't like how this chapter started, but I'm happy with how it ended so… Hope you enjoyed, please review, and feel free to present your humble writer with ideas in case she should happen to run out. Ask questions if you're confused, squeal if you're happy, and firebend your computer into ashes if you're angry.