disclaimer: I don't own ATLA


"How is your brother Sokka?" Iroh asked, pouring a cup of tea and handing it to Katara. "It's been many years since I last saw either of you." He and Katara were sitting in her cell which was slightly lit by a few candles, drinking tea. Katara, her face now clean of any muck, still had her blanket over her shoulders to keep her warm.

"How do you know me and my brother?" Katara asked with curiousity and suspicion.

"I doubt you would remember me. You and Sokka were very young the last time we saw each other. I used to give the two of you a tour of the capital city when your father came here for meetings."

Katara smiled when she remembered this again. Her smile got wider when she finally recognized Iroh.

"That's right!" she exclaimed in realization. "Didn't you take us to the zoo during one of our visits?"

Iroh laughed at the memory. "Oh yes. My nephew came with us also. I remember how shy you were around him. Then again you were only five years old. The three of you had so much fun that day."

This surprised and confused Katara.

"You wouldn't by any chance have another nephew who isn't a total jerk like Prince Zuko would you?" Katara asked without thinking. She covered her mouth with her hand when she realized what she had just said.

The smile on the old man's face was lowered into a sad frown as he lowered his head to look at the floor. Iroh had been kind to her ever since he had came to her cell, given her tea, and had nice conversations with her and she straight up insulted his family.

"I-I am so sorry." she stuttered. "I don't know why I said that, I wasn't thinking. I-"

"It is quite alright." said Iroh. He began to stroke his beard. "It is understandable that you would feel this way about Zuko. But try to understand, my nephew is a complicated young man. He has been through much."

Katara didn't ask what Zuko had been through. She knew it would have been rude. Instead she sipped her tea quietly.

"What have you and your brother been up to since the last time I saw you?" asked Iroh

Katara told Iroh all the big things that had happened to her family. She told him of her grandmother's marriage to her old flame Pakku, how she fought Pakku in a waterbending battle for the right to be taught by him and became a master waterbender. When she told Iroh of Sokka and Yue's marriage he chuckled.

"I can't say that I did not see that coming." he commented. "From what Hakoda had told me years ago Yue had a very large crush on your brother."

The waterbender smiled when she remembered all those times in her childhood when Yue had acted very shy around Sokka and sometimes never payed any attention to what she was doing when he was around.

A yawn coming from her interrupted her trip down memory lane and Iroh chuckled once more.

"I think it may be time for you to get some rest young lady." he playfully scolded and Katara smiled.

She helped Iroh pick up his candles (after they were blown out of course) and tea set, balanced it all on his tray, and he propped the tray against his hip so the he would be able to open the door. Katara sat on her bed so that she wouldn't have any trouble finding it in the dark.

"Sweet dreams Princess Katara." Iroh said, looking back at said princess with a smile.

"Goodnight General Iroh." Katara answered back with a smile.

"Please, call me Uncle."

Katara's smile widened at this. "Goodnight Uncle." she said. She laid on her side with her back to the door when Iroh left, closed her eyes.

The sound of the door closing woke Katara from her sleep at Tui and La knew what time. Sitting up and rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she looked at the door expecting to see someone but no one was there. She noticed a small glow coming from the floor right beside her and she looked over to see a lit candle. It wasn't there when Iroh had left. She guessed that Iroh must have came back while she was sleeping and put it there . Touched by this affection, Katara laid on her side again, this time with her back facing the wall and stared at the glow coming from the candle until her eyes closed.

Outside the door with one hand holding a small flame for light and the other hand still on the handle was Prince Zuko. He locked the three locks on the door and left the dungeon.


I know, I know, this update is short. I'm not feeling well right now. I don't know what's wrong. All I know is that my eyes are burning a little and I keep shivering for some reason even though I'm wearing a coat that keeps me warm pretty much all the time. I know what some of you guys might be thinking, "If you were sick enough to leave school early, you could have done some updating." Yeah, you would think that but actually I feel really tired and crappy and I can't wait to get better again