The breeze entered the room from the open window, making Aang very aware of his possible escape route. There was something thou that kept him in his chair facing the bed were Toph lay, his back turned to the window. He was back now, he had to accept that. He had never planed on staying away for so long. He had needed time after all that he had been though to be along and think. What he had found was that he was not as close to truly achieving his role as avatar as he had thought. Yes he has was able to bend all four elements, but he was only a true master in one. More importantly he hadn't even began to scratch the surface of the spiritual work that had to be done. Aang had, had to make a chose return to his friends, his family and let himself fall further behind in what he should know as the avatar, or stay away from them so he could fully concentrate on his work. He chose the later.
There where so many times he had wanted to come back, to see them again. He couldn't let himself thou, he had to be strong. He knew that if he was to see any of them again, even for a second he wouldn't be able to keep himself away. That was what happened with Toph. He saw her at the village she visited that morning. He saw her as he flew over head, he had to force Appa to keep flying so he wouldn't stop. In the end he lost his willpower and went back to see her. Finding her at the out-post. He saw her entering the loan soldiers tent, he landed Appa a good few feet away and waited for her to leave the tent. He didn't know what made him wait so long, his head was telling him to go, he had more work to do, he shouldn't come back now, but he still waited. He then saw her leave, and fall. In a split second he was holding her in his arms. He felt relief that she was unconscious, didn't know he was there for a second, before he realised that she had just pulled him back in to their misfit family, he couldn't leave now.
His grey eyes were set on the pale girl in the bed in-front of him, they only left her when he heard the door creak open. When he turned to face the person entering the room, he was met with a pair of blue eyes that he had known to well. Katara crossed the room, stopping by the bed, across from Aang, who was about to get up. Katara placed a hand to Toph's forehead, she seemed to be pleased as she removed her hand, Aang took this as a good thing. Before he fully pulled himself up, Katara broke the silence of the room "Why are you back, why now."
Aang felt his arms give out, casing him to slump back in the chair. He noticed that she hadn't asked why he had left in the first place, maybe that was to hard to ask now. "I saw her, leaving the village a few miles away." Katara had been hoping all day that the sighting Toph had been told about was wrong. It just figured that the one time she was with Toph when she was told about a sighting it would be the one that was right. "I followed her to the out-post." even in the darkened room, with only the candles by the bedside for light, Aang could see a frown work its way across Katara's face. He thought it was because he had just followed Toph without talking to her, and it was, but it was also because Toph had been to the out-post. Katara had known for a while that Toph went there sometimes, that wasn't what annoyed her, it was her not telling her that annoyed her. "She went into a tent...so I waited. I got Appa to circle over head, high enough so no one could see use. When she left the tent it was dark, and then she..."
"Yes I know. She fainted. You swooped in caught her, and brought her back her." during her outburst Katara had clamped her right hand on to Toph's left arm that lay motionless in front of her. Once she stopped for breath Katara saw what she was doing and let her friends arm go. For a second she worried she had woken her friend, but Toph remained still like a doll. The only movement she made was breathing in and out.
Sokka and Suki had arrived for the wedding not long after Toph had left. Katara told them Toph had gone out for the day, making sure that she wouldn't see Zuko before the wedding, to avoid bad luck. They had believed her so essayer, it made her feel so guilty. Zuko and Urse had made it just in time for dinner, afterwards they had retired to their rooms to rest. Iroh was not staying in the palace, he had a small annex at the back of the Jasmine dragon he stayed in when he was in Ba Sing Sa. Katara went to her room not long after dinner, hoping Sokka and Suki would do the same. She kept a look out from her bedroom window for Toph returning, her room over looked the gardens at the back of the palace, and was next to Toph's room.
When she saw Appa in the sky getting closer to the palace, she must have rubbed her eyes at lest five times, making sure she wasn't seeing things. Without thinking she made her way through the long corridors of the palace, and out into the garden. She was running so fast she almost ran into the monk, carrying the earthbender as she turned the corner that would lead her to the side door to the garden. Her eyes met his, and she couldn't take them off, till she heard her name on his lips. With more force than she intended, she pulled Toph, and Momo who still lay curled up on her stomach from the Avatars arms. "Get Appa into the stable. Someone else will see." she didn't wait to see if he did what he was told, she trusted he would, her main concern now was Toph, she knew something like this would happen. Toph was pushing herself to hard. Toph was surprising light in Katara's arms, further prof she wasn't taking care of herself.
Katara had put Toph in her bed, and checked her over, she had just pushed herself to hard, exhaustion, by the time Aang entered the room. He did this through the window that was always open. Katara's reaction had made him very worried about being seen. She didn't say a word to him, he sat in the seat that he still remained in, and waited. He was waiting for either Toph to wake up, or Katara to be ready to talk to him.
"She needed you to swoop in, we needed you to swoop in before, so why now."
Aang didn't really have an answer for that, at least not one that she would understand. "I Don't know...I saw her and...I,There has been so many times that I have wanted to come back, but I couldn't. I couldn't see any of you, because I knew I would end up being drawn back." his eyes now left Katara's softening face, and feel on Toph. "And that's want happened."
Katara was now walking over to him, on the other side of the bed. "Why did you have to stay away."
Aang could tell from her voice that she was beginning to really soften towards him, he had to be careful what he said now. "There was...is so much that I have to learn to be a good avatar. I had to be by myself to...to" he was having trouble finding the right word. Katara noticed, a feeling of sympathy kicked in. she placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I think I understand." and in truth she did, a little.
A smile appeared on the airbender face at this. He turned to face her, and slowly took a step forward, arms lifting slightly. "No." Katara almost lost her footing, as she took one big step backwards. "You ruined any chance we had when you took of like that." Aang's arms feel like a stone to his sides again. He didn't really know what he wanted from Katara in that moment. He still loved her of course he did, he would always love her, love all of their misfit family. Things had changed thou, he had changed and he could see just by looking at her, and Toph that they had all changed too. Seeing her again, made him feel like he was home again, but it always worried him a little at first, he didn't feel the way he used to about her. He worried that he had fallen out of love with her, or that he never really had. All he knew for sure was that he needed a hug from her right then, to feel close to someone again. When Toph was pulled from his arms, he felt the loss of her warmth against him more than he thought he would.
A cold hand slipped its fingers in-between his. Slowly he lifted his head to look at Katara. "I'm glad your back." there was a note of reluctance to her voice. She meant what she said, she just didn't want to mean it.
"Me too..."
"But I think it would be best if you left again...just for a few days." while she had spoken her hand had slipped from Aang's. He didn't seem to know what to do with himself or what to say. The last reminiscences of her anger with her friend washed away as she saw the look of utter confusion spread across his face. Her mouth opened to explain, but closed again. He had just come back, to lay all of what was going on, on him at once seemed a little unfair but he had to know. The second time her mouth opened to speak the words came pouring out. "we needed you...needed you to help, to do your job. Toph and I have been doing it all since Zuko became fire lord." this was the first big piece of news she lay on him. The look on his face told her he was taking it all in. "she has been taking on to much." she gestured with her hand to the sleeping girl. "As well as the jobs we have to do the earth king and Bumi have her doing jobs for them. They even want her to open an earthbending academy. She nearly fainted today before she left...I should have stopped her, I just knew this would happen." a hand on her shoulder forced her to stop, and take a breath. "she has been looking for you, she thinks you can make it all better...can you."
Aang kept his hand on her shoulder, not wanting to loss the closeness. "I can try." he wanted to say something more reassuring, but this seemed the safest thing to say.
Katara's gaze was set on the floor, out of the corner of eye so could see Toph's face. She had to tell him the rest. She was worried about his reaction. For the spilt second her eyes met his, when she took Toph out of his arms, he looked like someone had ripped his arms off. "she's getting married tomorrow...to Zuko."
the room once again feel into silence, as Aang dropped his hand to his side and feel back into the chair he had been sitting in. "When...when did...how did this...happen." he picked up enough from Toph to at least tell if someone was really lying, so he knew she was telling the truth. None of it was making any sense to him thou. Sure Toph and Zuko had been close since he joined them at the western air temple, she was the one that stood up for him, they were like best friends, brother and sister in away, but this.
"To maintain the balance of the four nations. Very few of the nobles in the earth kingdom and fire nation fully trust Zuko, him marring a noble lady from the earth kingdom would make it essayer for him to do his job. That in turn would make it easer for Toph and I to do ours, but she would have to give up her title as ambassador."
"What about Mai."
Katara had known this question was going to be asked at some point, and she had been dreading it. Answering it would lead to her telling him more of what he had missed, things she herself wasn't meant to know. "She's died...Azula killed her." the mention of Azula's name caused the avatars fists to clench together almost breaking the arms on the chair he was still sitting in. "Zuko and Toph caught her, before she did any more harm. Zuko has had her held at a safe palace, far away from all of us since then."
Aang was trying to take all of this in, he had really missed out on so much. "So that's why they..."
"No, that's not it. They don't love each other, well they do, but not like that. It is all politics. They have become close thou." again Katara hesitated before continuing. She wanted so much to tell Aang the rest, to be able to tell any one else, but it wasn't her information to tell, it was Toph's.
She had know about Toph's real mother for over a year now. Zuko had told her before he left Kyoshi Island after Sokka and Suki's wedding. He thought if she knew then maybe she could help Toph, without her knowing since he didn't think he could do it on his own. "Do you see the necklace she is wearing." she saw Aang's eyes fall on the circler silver pendent engraved with a lotus flower, that constantly hung around Toph's neck. "that belonged to her real mother. The women we meet was her stepmother. Toph didn't know about this till she meet Zuko's mother. She had been friends with Toph's mother, they were both members of the order of the white lotus. Toph's mother died giving birth to Toph. She doesn't know that I know, so please don't tell her I told you." Aang gave a gentle nod. He was trying to put all of the pieces of information he had just had dropped on him. His first impulse was to reach out, take Toph's hand in his. He felt so sorry for her. He knew all to well the guilty that comes from being the reason for a loved ones death he knew the damage it can do if you let it eat up at you.
"There is a lot going on now...maybe you can com..."
"I understand, its not the right time for me to come back.
"If you are really back...for good, then that is great...and I would be so happy, but...if you are just going to take off again, then you should just go now. No one would have to know you every came back at all."
Aang was a little shocked by her sudden mood swing, but he understood. She had to be sure that with things the way they were he wasn't just going to fly back into their lives then leave again, making it worse. He turned to face her, his grey eyes looking right into her blue ones. "I'm back."
he couldn't tell in the light from the stars outside, but he was sure that he saw a look of relief cross her face. "Good." he turned again to face Toph. "I'll leave before sunrise, stay in a inn here for a few days. Then once the wedding stuff is all done with, I'll let the others know I'm back. I just want to stay here a little longer."
"Ok, I'm going to sleep now. I'm in the next room if you need me." as she left the room a weight seemed to be lifted from the eighteen year old waterbenders shoulders. Having told Aang all that she did made her feel like she wasn't holding all of this to herself any more. Seeing him again had also answered the lingering question about what would have happened if he had stayed. She now knew for sure that they would never have lasted, it wasn't his fault or hers, it just wouldn't have worked. They lives had been so closely linked it confused things. He was a friend her best friend really, like a brother not a lover.
Toph hadn't heard a word of what was said she was in her own world. Were she had no idea that Aang was back, and she was marrying Zuko the next day. Her black hair was the only colour on the bed, amongst the white. She looked so tiny, Aang thought that she looked like she hadn't grown at all since he saw her last.
A overwhelming urge to call out to Katara when she left, to stop her from going or go with her, had taken him by surprise. He put it down to the lingering feelings he still, would always have for her. Despite that urge, he remained in his chair. As there too was the urge not to leave, to stay by the friend that had pulled him back. That was the urge that won out in the end.
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you liked it. This is the longest chapter of this part of the story, and I know that it was a like dull. I just needed to have Aang caught up on what was going on, and have put a end to the Katara and Aang thing. I have nothing against them together, its just not my favourite, and isn't going to be in this story.
Please review and let me know what you think.
