A glistening Aang appeared in the dining room just as Katara had returned from tossing her mopped up stomach bile outside in the surrounding woods. The relief Katara felt wash washed over with despair as she realized Zuko was not following suit.

"Where's Sparky?" Toph asked the question that lingered on her tongue. Toph jumped down from the stepping stool that she had been standing on and Sokka checked the boiling food over the stove.

"He said he wanted to clean himself up," Aang answered, avoiding Katara's stare, "He said we could start eating without him."

Katara felt her stomach tighten as she walked over to Sokka and grabbed a pile of bowls that someone had found and washed in the dusty cupboard. She tried to push the thoughts of the previous night aside. Surely Zuko wasn't going to be strange around her now just because she was a little forward?

A little? You more or less tried to seduce him.

She scolded herself silently as she set up the table in which held happier memories. Her life in the Fire Nation was simple and easy and occasionally fun until the night Zuko's mother had disappeared after visiting him in the middle of the night. That's when they stopped coming to Ember Island altogether. She never saw a genuinely happy smile cross Ozai's lips after his wife's disappearance.

"Alright, the soup is done." Sokka's voice broke through her thoughts and her stomach lightly grumbled.

"Katara?" Aang asked as he took a seat next to her.

"Hm?"

"Do you think after we eat we could practice waterbending together?" He slurped up a noodle and sent her a lopsided grin.

"Sure, I'd like that." Anything to get her mind off of her friend.

They ate in mostly silence after that. Aang complimented Sokka on a job well done and refilled his bowl. Toph snickered behind her bowl that was covering her mouth once a wet - and shirtless - Zuko came into sight. Katara didn't have to ask; her heart started beating faster. She was sure that Toph sensed her nervous stomach as well.

"It might be cold now." Sokka commented, as he watched Zuko pick up a bowl that was left on the counter for him, which was met with a look from the former prince. "Oh, right. Firebender." He muttered lamely as he picked up his bowl and drank the broth.

"How was practice today?" Katara asked nobody in particular as Zuko took a seat across from her.

"It was good. Although Sifu Hotman seemed extra frustrated today." Aang answered, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye as he slurped another noodle into his mouth.

"Why's that, Sparky?" Toph questioned with a hint of amusement in her voice. Katara felt herself growing irritated with the blind earthbender. It seemed everyone beside Sokka was aware something had happened between the two of them.

"Nothing," Zuko said with a tone that Katara wasn't used to hearing. "And stop calling me that name!" He spoke a bit more harshly as he summoned a small fire and worked his way around his bowl to heat up his soup.

Katara couldn't help but notice he was avoiding look at her.

"Aang, I'm done eating, would you like to go now?" She stood up with her bowl and walked toward the sink. Before she could get an answer the firebender interjected.

"Where are you going?" Zuko's voice surprised her, and for a second she thought he was speaking to her, until she turned and saw his gaze on the small airbender.

"I asked Katara if she wanted to practice waterbending." Katara noticed Aang gulp– probably hoping Zuko didn't burn him where he sat.

"What's the big deal?" Sokka questioned with a furrowed brow. He set down his bowl and all four pair of eyes landed up the prince.

To Sokka, Zuko seemed borderline unreasonable right now. To everyone else, well, they understood that Zuko must have let something slip about whatever happened between them to Aang.

Zuko, after what seemed an eternity, sighed audibly and nodded toward the airbender. Once he raised his head, his eyes gave Katara a quick once-over; noting how she seemed physically fine after her drunken night. If she hadn't already been staring, she probably would have missed his glance.

Katara excused herself from Aang to change into her practice wear before meeting him outside in the courtyard. She had to bend the water from the running sink in the kitchen to the empty fountain and that action alone took a lot of energy out of her.

Even if her practice wear consisted of her white bindings, she wanted a moment alone to shake off all thoughts and just breathe for a moment in solitude.

"This will pass," she whispered to herself, "You'll just have a talk with him tonight when everyone else has gone to sleep."

And far away from the earthbender.

She found Aang mediating on the edge of the fountain a few minutes later.

"I hope I'm not interrupting." She smiled sheepishly as he opened one of his eyes and mirrored her smile.

"No, I do it with any amount of free time I get." He jumped up and floated to the ground without making a sound.

"So, how did you learn waterbending?" Katara asked as she stepped into the cool water in the fountain.

"Sokka told me about master waterbenders in the North Pole."

"Sokka? Is he the one who found you?" Katara felt herself smile. In the little time she had been with her brother, their bond had grown immensely.

"Yeah, I was frozen in an iceberg and he had crashed his boat into it." She watched Aang smile at the memory. Katara wondered if any part of their journey had ever been simple.

"Sounds like Sokka." Katara let out a breathless laugh. Aang was now across from her in the water and they did simple push and pull motions with the summoned water in their hands.

After a moment of silence, "What about Zuko? I know he was assigned to capture you and bring you back to the Fire Nation."

"It was only a matter of hours after Sokka found me that Zuko's ship came to the shores of your village. He thought I would be old-what a surprise it was for him to see I was only a kid."

Katara felt her lips curl up at the look of surprise she imagined on his face.

"He'll come around, you know." Aang offered. Katara's smile disappeared.

"I don't think of him that way, Aang. I wasn't in my right mind..."

"I noticed he was more frustrated than usual right from the beginning. I finally couldn't take it anymore and I asked him what was going on and he snapped at me. He said we had Sozin's comet to worry about and you were off gallivanting with ex-flings. A lot of heat radiated off of him when he spoke of this person." Aang shrugged, eying Katara to see if she could help him make sense of his frustration.

"Zuko doesn't like who I saw on the beach yesterday. Before him and I left to find you, we were sent here on a forced vacation and he started talking to Mai, his ex-girlfriend. Zuko can be jealous sometimes and that just fuels his fire. He ended up shoving him and later they all went back and completely trashed his house."

"Is that their idea of a good time?"

"For Azula, yes. I wasn't apart of it, though. Since I'm not blood related I like to think I'm the most sensible one."

"I guess that could be it..." Aang didn't sound entirely convinced but Katara chose to ignore his skepticism.

"Zuko is a hard one to fully understand," Katara offered, wanting to change the subject, but she had a feeling this is why he had asked her to do something in which they would be alone. "I've known him my entire life and he still manages to surprise me."

"Well you were apart for four years."

"Right. Time does have a way of changing things." Katara sighed and the water she held dropped back into the fountain.

"Speaking of which, I kind of wanted to ask your advice on something. I would go to Sokka but since it's about a girl, and you're a girl, I figured you'd be my better option."

"Don't tell Sokka," she joked, "He might get offended." Aang laughed lightly and stepped out of the water, sitting back down on the edge. Katara studied him for a second before joining his side.

"I'm not sure whether or not I should be worried." She admitted, sitting on her hands. She felt her brows furrow as she stared at him with concern.

"No, no," He smiled up at her to try and reassure her. It did. "It's just for a while now, I have been feeling differently for someone I know. It's complicated because I notice the way she looks at this other person we both know..."

In that instant she became noticeably uncomfortable.

Her? 'I notice the way she looks at this other person we both know.' Zuko? Well that's just silly because she doesn't look at Zuko any particular way.

Then it hit her.

"Toph. Sokka," She whispered. She shook her head; riding her mind of her assumption. "I've noticed the way she looks at him too, so to speak."

"He's a strategist, and brave, and clever, There's no way she would ever look at me the same." Aang's voice sounded so defeated.

"You can't give up so easily, Aang. Not until you are sure of the way she feels about you. My guess is she developed a crush on Sokka because he's much bigger than she is. You two are around the same age, so your size is a lot more similar. You'll both grow over time, but right now, she clings to the older and stronger person." Katara tried to explain her thoughts the best she could. It surprised her, that Aang even felt this way. She was able to notice how Toph liked to be around Sokka right off the bat.

"You do have a point. Plus, Sokka has a girlfriend." Katara gave him a bewildered stare.

"He does? Where is she?" When Aang didn't acknowledge her question, she looked at noticed he was staring at his hands.

"We think Azula captured her. We have no idea where she is." His sad tone matched the look on his face.

"Well, I guess it's best that I'm learning this from you. What's her name?"

Aang smiled. "Suki. She's a Kyoshi warrior. She's a very talented fighter. You would like her."

"I'm sure I'll meet her some day." Katara tried to sound as optimistic as possible.

Before he could reply, Sokka appeared in the doorway with Toph in tow.

"Come on, you two! We are going to the beach!" Sokka's excitement made Katara smile. For someone with no idea where their girlfriend could possible be, he seemed rather upbeat most of the time. Maybe he focused on the bigger picture and had a plan to find her after they fought Ozai.

Aang looked up at her. "What do you say?"

"I never pass up a chance to enjoy the beach." She smiled and offered her hand to him and she stood up from the cool rock.

"Me neither." He smiled back and their hands connected as they rushed toward their two eager companions.

No more than a half hour later, Zuko appeared at the top of the sand hill that led down to the beach.

"What are you doing?" Zuko's voice surprised them all and Toph craned her neck to look at the approaching firebender.

"We're relaxing, Sparky! Why don't you join us?" She was laying out on a towel that was right next to Sokka.

Katara stood on a block of ice in the water that she had frozen and stopped squinting once he came close enough into view. He was fully dressed in his normal Fire Nation attire and crossed his arms over his chest.

"We have better things to be doing. You all have been so lazy since we've been here." He accused.

"Hey!" I yelled, everyone turning their attention to where I stood. "Aang has been working hard on building his firebending. The rest of us are already masters of our skill. I think we can take a little time to relax."

"Yeah, we're just enjoying the beach while there's still sunlight." Sokka agreed before Zuko could retort with whatever remark she could see he wanted to spit out when their eyes locked for the first time that day.

"Fine, you be lazy all you want, I'm not going to join you. There's a week until Sozin's comet but I guess that doesn't matter to any of you." He snapped as he turned on his heel to head back toward the house.

Before she could think, she summoned a water whip in her hands and forced it in his direction. She flipped her wrists and froze it and closed her fists; causing it to shatter. She then flicked her wrist roughly and sent the pieces flying at the back of his head but by then he was too far up the hill to be hit with them. If he sensed her attack, he did nothing. Soon he disappeared out of sight.

"What a jerkbender." Sokka scoffed as he stood up from his towel.

"He's just trying to focus on the mission." She defended, although she had no idea why.

Everyone gathered around Aang, who was building a Appa sand sculpture, and watched as he finished by shoving a piece of wood into the side for his second horn.

"Not bad, Tinkletoes, but I've been working on my sand bending." Toph smirked as she cracked her fingers. She turned and everyone watched as she brought up her arms, splitting them as she brought them down, and a sand display of Ba Sing Se lay before them. Sokka's mouth dropped open in awe and Aang jumped off of his Appa, examining her work up close.

"Whoa! You even made a little Earth King and Bosco." Aang pointed at their sculptures and smiled up at the blind earthbender. She crossed her arms triumphantly.

"That's amazing." Katara complimented.

"Thanks, Sugar Queen."

Not a second later a blast of fire came flying down by their feet and Zuko could be seen soaring through the air and he rolled and landed in a crouching position on the ground. He shot out more fire and Aang jumped backward to keep from his feet getting burned. Sokka grabbed Toph around the waist and ran backward to keep them safe as well.

"What are you doing?" Aang cried, running and jumping over Toph's work as fire threatened to burn him.

"Teaching you a lesson!" Zuko yelled in response, running after him and punching out more fire.

Everyone was frozen with confusion as they watched as Aang jumped to the top of the hill and Zuko climbed up the side. If she hasn't been in her bathing suit, Katara would have been able to throw a dagger and pinned him to the ground.

"What are we just standing here for?" She yelled at her remaining companions. She took off running up the hill and they followed closely behind her.

Katara watched as they moved along the rooftop of the house, Aang still dodging Zuko's fire blasts. She ran inside the house, listening for pattering footsteps on the roof but didn't hear any.

Suddenly she heard someone yell out and a loud explosion told her in happened upstairs. She ran up the stairs, two at a time, and turned right down a hallway where the cry had come from and saw a big hole in the side of the house. She jumped through, hearing footsteps behind her, and saw Aang standing over Zuko, who was standing up from being blasted through the wall.

"What is wrong with you?" She yelled, jumping down to join them. "You could have hurt Aang!"

"We need to be preparing for Sozin's comet!" He yelled back as the other two skidded to a stop near the hole. Everyone beside Katara gaped at him. "Why are you all looking at me like I'm crazy?"

"About Sozin's comet, I was actually going to wait to fight the Fire Lord until after it came."

"After?" Katara and Zuko yelled in unison. She turned and looked at Aang, backing up until she was next to Zuko.

"I'm not ready. I need more time to master firebending." He pleaded.

"And frankly, your earthbending could still use some work too."Toph cut in from the balcony where she and Sokka stood.

"So you three knew Aang was going to wait?" Zuko asked incredulously. This time it was Sokka who interjected.

"Honestly, if Aang tries to fight the Fire Lord right now, he's going to lose," Sokka chimed in, "No offense."

"The war was pretty much won once they conquered Ba Sing Se. Things can't get any worse." Aang tried to offer as reasonable as he could.

"You're wrong! It's about to get worse than you could even imagine." Zuko snarled, turning away from everyone.

"What are you talking about, Zuko?" Katara asked, staring at his back.

"The day before the eclipse, I attended an important war meeting. It was what I dreamed about and wanted for so many years. My father finally accepted me back. But what I heard made me sick to my stomach. He plans on using the power that comes from the comet to wipe out the Earth Kingdoms - permanently. I wanted to speak out about his plan and I'm ashamed to say that I didn't. My whole life I struggled to gain my father's love and acceptance. But once I had it, I realized I lost myself getting there. I'd forgotten who I was." He turned back around and his eyes met with Aang's. "I know you're scared, and I know you're not ready to save the world. But if you don't defeat the Fire Lord before the comet comes, there won't be a world to save anymore."

"Why didn't you tell me about your fathers crazy plan sooner?" Aang yelled, pacing back and forth.

"I didn't think I had to! I assumed you were still going to fight him before the comet. Nobody told me you decided to wait!" Zuko shot back, refusing to be blamed.

Aang walked a few feet away, continuing to pace back and forth, and threw his hands over his eyes.

"This is bad. This is really, really bad." He fell to his knees.

"Aang," Katara stepped forward, "You don't have to do this alone."

"Yeah! If we all fight the Fire Lord together, we all have a shot at taking him down!" Toph raised her small fists in the air and smiled.

"This goes against everything I've learned from the monks. I can't just go around wiping out people I don't like." Aang's shoulders slumped forward.

"Sure you can! You're the Avatar, if it means keeping balance, I'm pretty sure the universe will forgive you." Sokka smiled at his humored statement.

"This isn't a joke, Sokka! None of you understand the position I'm in!" Aang raised his voice the highest Katara had ever heard it.

"Aang, we do understand. It's just...we're trying to help!" She offered.

"Well, when you think of a way to defeat the Fire Lord without taking his life, I'd love to hear it!" He yelled, jumping up from his kneeling position, and stalking past the two of them.

"Aang! Don't walk away from this!" She started to walk after him, but Zuko's hand on her shoulder stopped her. She turned and for the first time that day, he spoke to her.

"Let him go. He needs time to sort it out by himself."He pulled his hand away and looked up at the balcony. The four of them stood in silence for a long moment, unsure of what to do now.

Katara had resigned to her room shortly after Aang stalked off during their conversation. She twirled a dagger on her hand and was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't notice someone enter her room.

"I think we need to talk." The tone of his voice brought her out of her trance. She didn't even flinch when she looked up and saw him leaning against her doorway with his arms crossed.

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing." She stopped twirling the dagger and placed it on the side table next to her bed. He walked into her room and shut the door lightly behind him without another word. Silence engulfed them as they stared at anything but each other.

"I didn't mean to do what I did," She spoke carefully, and when he didn't respond, she continued. "You have been my best friend my entire life, your exiled years not counting, and we both missed a lot of important things in each others lives during that time. But regardless, your friendship means more to me than almost anything in this world, and I don't want something as stupid as a drunken come-on to ruin it." Once she finished, her eyes locked onto his. His stare was piercing but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle.

"Regardless if it meant anything or not," His spoke, but his voice was guarded, "I didn't mean to offend you. You were right: you aren't the girl I last saw before I was banished and I would be stupid to think guys wouldn't try and court you. But I don't like Chan or Ruon-Jian. They're imbeciles and an embarrassment to the Fire Nation."

"Zuko–"

"They're not good enough for you." He cut her off.

"That's not your decision, Zuko." Katara kept her voice level but internally she was infuriated. Who did he think he was? He had no right to decided who was or was not good enough for her.

"As long as we have known each other, and all we have been through together, you think you would listen to me when it comes to things as deep as love. I have your best interest in mind and I don't want you opening yourself up to someone who could potentially hurt you." Both of their expressions were that of surprise. Hers because she never fathomed having this of conversation with him, and him because he couldn't recognize himself in the words he had just spoken.

"Thank you for your concern, Zuko, but I am a grown woman. I think I can handle myself."

"Physically, yes, but you are kind of blind when it comes to matters of the heart." The words left his mouth before he could stop them. She seemed taken aback, and flinched as though he had slapped her.

"I think you need to leave my room," She eyed the dagger on her night stand, "before you find this knife in your body."

His back stiffened as his gaze moved from her face to her hand that was now clutching the dagger between her fingers. She felt embarrassed and had no time to think about her unnecessary threat.

"Fine, but if you weren't so stubborn you would be able to see what I'm saying is true."

Once she was alone she squealed in frustration and threw the dagger at the door in which he had just exited.

A/N: AH! I am SO sorry for my absence! I meant to get this update out a few days after the last but things don't always work in my favor. I was out of state for a week with very limited computer access so I never got a chance to update. I was hoping to let you all know I would be gone, and that my story might not be updated quite as fast as usual, but here it is! Finally! Hope you enjoy. Thanks for reading!