(Told you there'd be a re-upload! Changes occur towards the middle until the end.)
The skies remained clear after an hour of flying and it appeared that they were going to stay that way for the rest of their journey. Katara was leaning over the front of the ship, her arms pressed against the metal side as she scanned the open air before them. She knew they were still a long ways away from the Air Temple, but she couldn't stop herself from searching the skies for a sign that they were at least getting closer.
Zuko remained behind her near the furnace, still working to keep the coals hot, even though Katara guessed his constant attention to the task was unnecessary. She realized that this was the first time since the chaos of their escape that they just had each other's company to focus on.
And in the quiet, Katara was finally able to revisit the day of their escape in the palace and Zuko's confrontation with his father. His revelations, though not meant for her, were shocking. He had saved her life more times in the past few days than she ever would have thought possible in an entire lifetime, and for that she knew she could truly trust him now.
But now she felt guilty. Even though Zuko had done terrible things, Katara never even considered to wonder why. When Jet had revealed himself for who he truly was – a man who hated the entire Fire Nation just for being Fire Nation, Katara had wanted to believe she wasn't like that. But now, she had the sinking feeling she was no better.
She felt better knowing that she had not hated Zuko just because he was Fire Nation – he had chased them around the world and attacked them at every opportunity.
But then she remembered her words in the catacombs of Ba Sing Se, "But what do you care? You're the Fire Lord's son. Spreading violence and war and hatred is in your blood." She shuttered at how wrong she had been and the guilt sunk deeper.
She clenched the side of the ship before briskly turning toward Zuko who looked up to her in surprise. Caught off guard by her own actions, she decided not to address her real concerns right away.
"Can I ask you something?" Katara's voice boomed, breaking through the silence. He didn't say anything though gave her a look of permission, so she continued. "Why did you go there first – to the Western Air Temple?"
Zuko had been looking at her, but once the question was out he looked back to the coals, pushing them around with the iron tool in his hand. He didn't answer right away and Katara imagined she was causing him to revisit unpleasant memories.
"I had to start somewhere, and it was the closest Air Temple to the Fire Nation." He said simply.
She felt the words on the tip of her tongue but refrained from speaking them. Katara wondered if Zuko realized she had overheard him that day and suddenly felt that not telling him was like she was keeping a deep dark secret from him. Before she could stop herself, she was blurting out her words.
"I HEARD WHAT YOU SAID TO YOUR FATHER." Katara practically yelled out her confession, assuring herself that he would hear it over the whipping of the air around them because she didn't think she'd have the nerve to say it again.
Zuko's hand froze, but just as quickly started poking at the coals again.
"I kinda figured that," he said, placing the iron tool down so he could turn to her. "All of it?" He wondered, but Katara kept her head down as she nodded.
When he didn't say anything more, she risked looking up to him. He was looking in her direction, but he was staring at her feet.
"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."
"I know." He agreed, and Katara thought that was where the conversation was going to end. She was surprised when he spoke again saying, "But maybe it's time I do."
Katara's face softened as she moved over to him, kneeling down in front of him so she could listen. When Zuko struggled to speak, she decided to say something she felt like she owed him.
"I'm sorry if I wasn't supposed to hear it," she began, twisting her hands together self-consciously.
"I spoke out against him." Zuko suddenly interjected, causing Katara to look up in surprise. Zuko was taking a deep breath, as if letting out the words had caused him some relief. She suddenly wondered how long he had kept all of those dark secrets hidden.
She didn't want to push him to talk about it, so she waited patiently for him to continue. When he looked up and could see her waiting for him to decide to continue or not, he kept speaking.
"I was a week away from turning 13, and I was the spoiled, bratty prince you probably imagined I was. I still wasn't allowed to attend war council meetings, but on this day, I demanded that I be let in. My uncle tried to warn me, but I wouldn't hear it.
"There was a plan that one of the council members suggested – he wasn't even in the military, he was a rich, old nobleman who sat around telling people what to do all day – he wanted to sacrifice an entire battalion of new recruits to the front line…as a distraction."
Katara couldn't help the gasp that escaped her lips. Just the thought of it made her queasy.
"Uncle had been right – I was too young. I didn't know my place, didn't know that I couldn't merely speak out against ideas I didn't agree with. The nobleman was not pleased, and he accused me of being disrespectful. In the Fire Nation, when someone feels disrespected, an Agni Ki is held – a duel until one concedes or one cannot continue. I wasn't afraid, though. Like I said, the nobleman was old; he had never seen battle so I thought it would be an easy victory.
"So you can imagine my surprise when I turned around and was instead facing my father."
"But you hadn't spoken out against him…"
"No, but it was a meeting called by him in his war council chambers. So I had indirectly disrespected him."
"But how could a father duel against his own son?"
"The Fire Nation is very strict when it comes to their traditions, and your honor is your most valuable possession. Still…I refused to fight him."
"What happened?" Katara's voice was low and she noticed Zuko couldn't even look at her.
Katara froze when he lifted his hand and motioned towards the left side of his face, not touching his scar, but making it obviously clear that's what he was pointing at. And that was when it all clicked – his obsession with hunting Aang, taking Azula's side in Ba Sing Se – what he thought had been his biggest failure in life sat burned into his face, looking back at him day after day.
Katara felt the disgust coursing through her – she knew the Fire Lord was a bad man, but this made him unredeemable in her eyes. He was evil. Katara had to shake away her shock and for the first time, she didn't know what to say – what could she say? So instead, she gently wove her fingers into his hands.
Zuko squeezed her hands as he strained to say, "I'm sorry…I've never really talked about this before."
"It's okay." Katara whispered.
"I didn't just betray you in Ba Sing Se that day – I betrayed the only person who has ever been there for me. My Uncle never gave up on me, he saw the good in me and he tried so hard to get me to see it myself. I just hope wherever he is, he's okay."
Zuko looked at Katara as a single tear escaped from his golden eyes. Katara felt her heart break for him – even after recounting the terrible memories of his father, it was Zuko's fear of losing his Uncle that truly upset him. Katara was surprised when she felt tears welling in her own eyes as she attempted to blink them away, at the same time lifting her hand to Zuko's face where she gently brushed her thumb over the loose tear.
"I'm sure he's fine, Zuko. Iroh is smart and he's very capable – he's probably in a tea shop somewhere enjoying his freedom." She said with a smile and was pleased when Zuko snickered at the thought. She sniffled as she added, "And I know he'd be proud of you."
Zuko looked down and seemed to be thinking if that could be possible. After a moment, he looked up to Katara with a small smile as he whispered, "Thank you."
Katara smiled before wrapping him into a hug and was happy when she felt Zuko's arms wrap around her as well.
The heaviness that had been in the air earlier had lifted after their talk and, other than the occasional comment, Katara and Zuko sat in a comfortable silence as their ship sailed through the skies. It didn't take long during the long stretches of silence before Katara got jittery again and craved a distraction.
From the floor next to Zuko, Katara looked up to him just as he finished blasting the coals with a ball of fire.
"Can I ask what happened to your mom?" She questioned – her voice soft as she tried to tread the waters carefully.
"I already told you one sad story today – it's your turn." Zuko pointed out, turning to her to see how taken aback she looked.
"You want to know about my mom?" Katara couldn't keep the shock out of her voice.
"You're surprised?" Zuko asked, sounding slightly offended. "I don't get to know anything personal about you?"
The thought of Zuko knowing intimate details about Katara's life made her feel nervous – he had seen her at her lowest and most vulnerable, and perhaps because of that she already felt like he knew her – but really, he didn't.
She considered Zuko a friend now, and she was just beginning to realize that maybe he considered her his friend, too.
"Of course you can, you just…caught me off guard, that's all." She began, the memories already escaping from the deepest part of her mind.
"It's not a day I like to remember…" Katara began, having to let out a calming breath so she could continue. "It was a warm, beautiful day so everyone was outside, all the kids were playing…Sokka and I were having a snowball fight. That's when we saw it, the black snow." Katara almost shuttered at the memory as she struggled to continue. "Many of the warriors had seen the black snow before, so they knew what it meant – a Fire Nation raid. I could hear the yelling as I ran to find my mom – she was in our house, but she wasn't alone. I can still see his face when I close my eyes, his beady brown eyes staring at me with such evil in them. I'll never forget them."
She looked up sadly to Zuko and she could see the hint of guilt in his face.
"She was protecting me." Katara said with a sniffle, reaching her hand to her throat, only to remember again that her necklace was gone. The pain was evident in her voice as she remembered the small smile her mother had given her before Katara had fled their home. "They were there for me, because I was the last waterbender, but she lied to him. And he killed her."
Zuko couldn't stop the sinking feeling that came over him – this hadn't been the first story he had come across where his country had been responsible for such heartache, and it sickened him at how blind he had been.
"Your mother was very brave." Zuko finally spoke as Katara nodded solemnly.
"Yes, she was." She agreed, tears welling in her eyes, but never managing to escape.
"I'm sorry for everything my family has put you through. I can't believe I once thought their intentions were noble. I promise, if I'm able to, I'll make this right someday, somehow, to everyone my father and grandfather have wronged…and everyone they have hurt."
Katara knew he'd make good on that promise, too. She smiled and took his hand in hers.
"I know you will."
It didn't take long after Katara's story for them to see land peeking out in the horizon.
They landed the ship on the outskirts of the temple in a clearing big enough for it to fit. Zuko hopped out first, landing in the soft meadows around the Air Temple as he helped Katara down from the metal structure.
Katara stretched tiredly as she looked around, a strained look on her face.
"I'm going to go try and find a lake or a stream or something…" She said, walking off into the patchy forest as she added on, "be back soon!"
Zuko stretched out a bit as well before unpacking a few things from his pack – he tied a large canopy to two trees to create a crude shelter for the night and pulled out a pack of food before starting on making a small fire.
Once their campsite was set up, he sat and waited for Katara to return. Only then did his mind wander, and it began to become apparent at how nervous he felt about his reunion with Katara's group. He feared they wouldn't accept him, regardless of what he had done for her.
The more he thought about it the more unsure he became, so he stood up and thought it might be a good idea to practice what he would say.
"Hello – Zuko here. But I guess you probably already know me, sort of." He practiced, rubbing the back of his head insecurely before continuing. "Uh – so, the thing is, I have a lot of firebending experience, and I'm considered to be pretty good at it. Well, you've seen me, you know, when I was attacking you. Uh, I guess I should apologize for that." Again, he had to pause and pinch the bridge of his nose from the memories. "But anyway…I'm good now…I mean, I thought I was good before, but I realized I was bad…but anyway – I think it's time I joined your group and taught the Avatar firebending."
Zuko awkwardly tried to work out the right thing to say and had been so consumed in his speech that when he heard Katara's soft laughter in the distance, his stomach dropped to his feet. He turned to find her standing there looking at him, her hand covering her mouth as she tried to stifle her laughter.
"What are you doing?" Katara asked, trying not to tease him, but Zuko's face heated nonetheless.
The Fire Prince rubbed the back of his neck as he muttered, "n-nothing!" before turning from her self-consciously. He could hear her footsteps approaching him and he deflated, sighing.
"I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to say to Aang…and your brother." He explained before looking to her. "After everything I've done, how could they trust me?"
"Zuko, you saved my life." She assured, putting a comforting hand on his back. "They won't need any convincing to trust you." She added, moving her hand in small circles. "Okay?"
He looked to her for a long moment, searching her expression for any doubt in what she had said, but found none. Feeling reassured, he breathed "Okay." She smiled at his relief, and he couldn't help but smile back.
"Okay! Let's go find them!" Katara shouted excitedly, almost skipping into her step as she moved for the temple.
Zuko reached out his hand and grasped Katara's wrist to stop her, and she looked back to him confused.
"What?" She asked, and Zuko felt bad having to stop her.
"I've already set up camp…we should wait until morning. It'll be dark soon and the temple is built on the side of a cliff, if we can't see where we're going we could easily step right off. It's too dangerous."
"Oh…" Katara looked momentarily horrified by that prospect, but it quickly melted into disappointment. "Okay."
"I'm sorry, I know you're anxious to see them."
Katara thought of that for a moment, and while it was true, she could see the sense in waiting. So to make light of her anticipation, she shrugged and said, "It's been over a month, what's a few more hours?" But she couldn't stop herself from looking in the direction of the temple, knowing her brother and friends were so close, yet still felt so far.
The sun had dipped just below the horizon by the time Zuko and Katara had eaten their dinner, making it dark enough to turn in for the night. After their long day, it didn't take long for either of them to doze off. They slept next to each other but with a considerable distance between them, both of their deep breaths syncing.
Hours passed, the moon was high and it was the dead of night when suddenly, Zuko was startled awake. He noticed Katara siting up, her hand grasping at her chest as she struggled to catch her breath. Within moments, Zuko was at her side, his eyes alert.
"What is it? What's wrong?" He tried not to sound panicked as brought a flame to his palm so he could look her over. She appeared to be fine, so instead he raked the area around her to find a threat, but found nothing.
Zuko was surprised that when he turned back to Katara, he realized she hadn't moved – still had yet to even acknowledge him as she was so consumed with whatever had her in a panic. He carefully knelt down in front of her and even when he lowered himself into her field of vision, she wasn't looking at him, it seemed like she was looking through him.
At eye level, he was finally able to see that how wide her eyes were, her pupils blown so dramatically that the blue was eclipsed by black.
"Katara?" When she didn't seem to hear him, Zuko squeezed her hand, but she didn't respond to that either.
"Katara…" Zuko's concern was growing into a panic as he took her face in his hands to try and snap her out of her daze. "Katara look at me."
Katara felt her eyes snap to Zuko as she was finally released from whatever vice she had been in. She blinked rapidly as her heart tried to steady itself. She could see Zuko, knew where she was, but none of it felt real – it was an odd sensation, one she had never felt before. It made her feel detached, not just from everyone and everything, but from herself as well. She felt out of control.
Zuko could feel Katara edging onto her knees as if she were moments away from jumping up and running – could see the focus coming back into her eyes, yet the edge never left her face. Instead of jumping to her feet, however, she instead brought her hands to his wrists and squeezed.
"That's it, stay with me." He encouraged as she worked to even out her breathing.
"There's nothing…I don't know I…I don't know what happened." Zuko could hear her voice shaking as she spoke – watched as multiple emotions flashed across her face. She looked confused, scared, and sad all at the same time. Seeing no threat, however, Zuko was surprised when instead of calming down Katara only seemed to get more worked up.
She looked up to him with tears pooling in her eyes, a desperate look on her face as if she were asking for his help. Zuko didn't know what he could do for her but seeing the heartbroken look on her face, he felt compelled to wrap his arms around her.
Katara refused to cry – nothing had happened. So then what was going on?
Katara pressed her face into Zuko's shirt and breathed in and out deeply, relieved when her racing heart finally slowed.
"Are you okay?" He asked after her breathing had returned to normal.
"I think so." She said into his chest, nodding as she pulled away from him carefully as if her calm may be a fluke. "Nothing like that has ever happened to me before."
"Maybe your nerves are just shot – it's been a long few days and you're anxious for tomorrow, I'm sure it's nothing more than that." He tried to assure her, hearing the frustration and confusion in her voice.
"I-I guess so." Katara agreed quietly, though she didn't believe it. Zuko squeezed her arm before he began to scoot away to take his spot back on the ground. Just as his hand fell away from her, she slid her hand up his arm before she grasped onto it, hoping that he hadn't noticed how desperate she had been in her movement.
Surprised by her action, he propped back up, moving back towards her as she shuffled next to him.
"Um, Zuko? Could…could we sleep next to each other tonight? I think it'll help me sleep…" She sounded unsure of herself – she wasn't sure if she was crossing a line with him, and she was suddenly terrified he'd say no.
Zuko was surprised at her request, but any other thoughts about it quickly subsided when he realized she just needed the comfort after being so rattled.
"If that's what you need, sure." He said quietly, lying back down on the ground.
Katara felt relieved as she scooted next to him, not sure where exactly she should lie that would be close enough and be comfortable for him. She leaned back to the ground and at first kept a gap between them, but slowly found herself moving closer and closer to him.
Only when she was close enough to smell Zuko's scent did she realize that was what had calmed her. Only when Katara thought Zuko had dozed back off to sleep did she roll onto her side to burrow her face into the sleeve of his shirt.
And it didn't take long for the deep even breaths of sleep to take over.
The sun was just peeking out from the horizon the next morning when Zuko's eyes opened. He had rolled onto his side in the night and could feel Katara pressed up behind him. He shifted only to feel that her hands were clenched in his shirt and her face was pressed so tightly into his back that he was surprised she could breathe – would have thought she couldn't breathe if he couldn't feel her hot breaths on his back.
Zuko's body was stiff and aching from lying on the hard surface, and he desperately wanted to get up, but if he did he knew he'd wake Katara and after her rough night, he didn't want to disrupt her.
So he stayed in his spot for another hour to allow her more sleep before he couldn't take the discomfort anymore.
Just as he suspected, right when he stirred to get up, Katara sucked in a breath and groggily moved to her back. He heard her yawn as he sat up, popping his back in pain as she stretched her arms above her body.
"Sorry to wake you." He apologized as she slowly sat up as well.
"That's okay, I slept long enough." She assured as she sheepishly glanced over at him. "Thank you for last night."
He could tell she was embarrassed about what had happened and he wanted to assure her it was no big deal, so he smiled easily as he said, "Anytime."
They worked together to pack away their campsite and soon, Zuko and Katara made their way through the meadows leading to the edge of the air temple. Although mostly intact due to its concealed location, the outer walls were in ruins from the battle that occurred 100 years prior, making their trek a little more difficult. Everything to their left was open air, and it made them a little uneasy when they first started maneuvering through the wreckage.
After jumping down a few walls and maneuvering through the worst of the rubble, they heard a faint roar coming from above them that had Katara stopping dead in her tracks.
"Appa!" Katara recognized instantly, her face lighting up in anticipation. "We need to go up!" She urged as she took off forward in a sprint, throwing Zuko off guard.
He ran after her and saw that in the side of the mountain, stairs were carved out of the rock leading up to the top level of the temple. Katara was already rushing up the stairs as Zuko struggled to catch up.
It was quite a climb, and on the last bend, Zuko lost sight of the determined waterbender. When he emerged on the top of the mountain, Katara was nowhere in sight. Zuko slowed his pace to look around before calling out her name.
With no response he decided to keep moving. He was concerned to be separated from her, but he knew how excited she was to reunite with her family and friends. Zuko decided to stay on the path that kept the sky to his left and eventually, he came across an overhang on the mountain with a giant fountain in the center and next to it, a room lined with stone pillars that resembled shutters.
Zuko approached the fountain area but saw or heard nothing. He was just about to turn around when a large black shadow fell over him that caused him to freeze in his spot. He listened as the sound of deep breathing approached him, the shadow getting impossibly bigger and bigger until the strong breath of a giant animal was pressing hotly onto his back. He dared turn around to confirm his suspicions, and he barely took in Appa's large form before the giant creature was licking the whole side of Zuko's body.
The drool rolled off of him as he forced a smile through his displeasure.
"Good to see you too." He said, patting the bison affectionately.
Satisfied, Appa moved away from Zuko and made the room visible once again. This time, however, it wasn't empty.
In the space of one of the pillars stood Katara's brother, Sokka, his eyes set on Zuko with a burning hatred. Zuko watched as Sokka moved forward, slowly and deliberately as his hand moved behind his back, unsheathing a long, black sword.
Zuko had never taken Sokka seriously – he had been the least threatening of the bunch, and not just because he was the only non-bender. Sokka didn't look threatening, even when he was trying to be.
But the man Zuko was looking at now was not the same man he remembered, and for the first time, he feared him. This Sokka looked dangerous.
Zuko rose his hands into the air carefully, backing away as Sokka continued his pace forward. Once he was in striking distance, Zuko spoke.
"Sokka, wait – "
But the water tribe warrior was in no mood to talk. He swung his sword with precision and Zuko just narrowly missed the hit by jumping back, the tip of the blade slicing a fine cut right through his tunic.
The Fire Nation Prince tripped over the edge of the fountain from his leap back and had to move quickly to avoid another swing of Sokka's sword. Zuko felt his stomach drop when he noticed the teen's movements – they were from the teachings of Master Piandao. He knew, if given the opportunity, Sokka could easily strike him down, so he just had to stay alive long enough for Katara to find them.
Zuko could feel his own swords draped on his back, felt the urge to pull them out as Sokka continued to rush him, but he didn't. He thought it was probably a stupid choice, considering he could use them to defend against Sokka's attacks, to keep himself from dying, but he didn't want to give the water tribe warrior any reason to think he was his enemy (any more than he already thought.)
He thought he was quick enough to outrun him – and not only that, but he kind of felt he deserved this a bit.
"Sokka, stop!" Zuko rambled desperately, but Sokka kept attacking. "Katara is alive!" He urged, but Sokka's swings just became more desperate. "She's here with me!" Sokka stopped for a moment, frozen, so Zuko stopped as well but he could see his eyes were full of pain and anger, not hope like he anticipated.
Zuko could feel his pounding heart in his ears, nothing but the sound of the wind around them before Sokka screamed in rage, charging towards the prince. It caught him so off guard that Sokka was able to trip Zuko to the ground, his back slamming against the stone as Sokka's foot crashed against his chest.
Sokka swung his sword into the air, gripping the hilt with both hands and pointing the tip downwards before screaming, "Liar!"
He pierced the sword down right for Zuko's throat and all he could do was close his eyes and wait for the end. Instead, however, he heard the desperate cry of Katara in the distance.
"Sokka, NO!" Katara's voice was so loud, it consumed Sokka, and the sword stopped just inches from Zuko's throat.
AN: Kind of ended on a cliff hanger, kind of not. You'll have to wait for the next chapter for the long-awaited reunion. I have been so insanely busy the past couple that I haven't been writing much, apologies! I was kind of desperate to finally put this up so don't be surprised if I re-upload it with edits, I've read it and re-read it too many times to be able to notice anything anymore.
(Katara's meltdown was a panic attack, btw. In later chapters we will see just how much her captivity has affected her and stayed with her, even if she doesn't realize it has yet.)
Just some additional info too, once the gang is reunited, the story will kind of follow the timeline of the show. Some things will be added, some things won't be in there. Katara still must learn blood bending, Sokka and Zuko will still leave to go rescue Hakoda, Katara will have a birthday and it will be celebrated, Yon Rah will happen in some capacity…something to look forward to. I appreciate all the follows and favorites this story has received :)
