"A month?" Aang shrieked. "I can't learn firebending in a MONTH! Are you crazy?" He paced back and forth in front of Sokka and Toph.
"Twinkletoes..." Toph started. "I thought we had talked about this? You have one month before the comet comes. And I don't think you're taking down Ozai without knowing an ounce of firebending. You're good...but not that good."
A decidedly evil glare was lost on Toph's blind eyes.
"At least the basics, Aang," Sokka said. "Hopefully the Avatar State will kick in before you need to use any fancy moves on Ozai. A month doesn't seem like a long time, but if we find you a really good master soon you can get a good foundation. It's better than nothing."
"But what if we don't find someone?" Aang said, voice hollow. "What if I'm not ready?"
There was a silence.
"You don't have a choice, Aang," Toph whispered, serious. "You have to be ready. Aang...the world is counting on you, ready or not. We let them down at the invasion...we can't do that again."
"...I have something I should probably tell you guys," Aang mumbled, looking like a little boy.
Which is, of course, what he was.
"Well...two things, actually," he said sheepishly.
"Aang. Spit it out," Sokka said, leaning back against the grass and sighing.
"Umm...well I wasn't actually planning on, um, on fighting the Fire Lord until after the comet comes," Aang said quickly. "He'll just be too powerful and, um, I have no clue how to firebend and we'll lose. And this way we have more time to find a teacher so I can be ready and-"
"What?!?" Sokka shouted, jumping up. "Aang, did you you really just say that? You can't be serious. We are a MONTH away and you just now tell us you aren't gonna fight the Fire Lord when we had planned? Aang, I don't even know you anymore. You're a coward-" He sat down, breathing hard.
"Sokka. Stop," Toph said. "Aang-do you not realize what effect this will have? Ozai is probably gonna take over the world on that day. If we don't stop him then, we aren't gonna get another chance-"
"We're already gathering an army, Aang," Sokka whispered. "Like Toph said-this is our chance. And you have the Avatar State! He may be powerful, but can't you just get all spirit-y on him and take him down? I mean, isn't that what the Avatar State is for?" His face was desperate, pleading.
"Well, umm, that's the second thing," Aang mumbled.
Sokka clenched his fists.
"You see...when I met with the Guru, he told me what I had to do to use the Avatar State at will. To just be able to...turn it on, whenever I needed it. Normally it just happens when someone important is in danger, or when I'm angry or upset...but now, I need to be able to use it at my command. I can't keep on waiting for it to happen, because if I do, it's gonna be too late...but I can't do it. I can't let her go," he whispered, sitting down on his knees.
"Can't let who go, Aang?" Toph asked, already knowing the answer.
"He said that there was something blocking me from unlocking my last chakra," Aang said, staring straight ahead. "An attachment. Love. Her. I can't have control of the Avatar State but still have her. He said I had to chose...her or the world. But I just can't make that choice. I left before he could tell me how to unlock it. How to choose."
"Aang, you're not making sense," Sokka said, shaking his head. "Who are you talking about?"
There was a pause.
"Her, Sokka," Aang said, starting to cry. "Katara."
Silence.
"Aang," Sokka whispered, coldly, emotionless. "My sister is dead. Your feelings are worthless now. If that is what is keeping you from saving the world...she's gone, Aang."
"I know she is," he said in a small voice. "My head knows that...but my heart doesn't. I can't let go of her...I lost her that first time. I can't lose her again."
"She would want you to give her up, Aang," Toph said, gently. "You know how she wanted nothing more for there to be peace. And if it meant that you gave her up in order to do that...maybe Katara had to die. Maybe that was what it was going to take for you to give her up, for you to save the world."
"Toph's right," Sokka said slowly. "As much as I hate it...maybe she had to die. You can't love someone that isn't here, Aang. You have to let her go. You have to let her go."
"But I can't," he whispered.
And he had to get away. He took off running, grabbing his staff and flying up into the air, away from his problems and closer to her.
"I can't," he said. "I can't."
But the voices in his heart told him he didn't have a choice.
_ _ _ _ _ _
They had walked all day, along dusty side roads and gurgling creeks. Tonight's camp was a small clearing in the midst of a large forest.
They had eaten a small dinner, of bread and smoked meat. It was late now, and Ursa and Iroh sat beside the fire, deep in conversation and sipping cups of steaming tea.
Katara was rummaging through her things-she had bought a new pack, and more clothes-in the last town they passed through. She fingered the fine red cloth, and wondered why (and how) Zuko could afford to spend all that money on her. Of course, he was a Prince. He had money, lots of it. But why he felt the need to buy her a new hairbrush and a strong waterskin escaped her.
She had asked him why, and he had responded slowly. "I want you to have them," he said quietly.
She felt a presence at her back, and turned. Zuko stood, reaching an arm out, almost touching her shoulder. His lips were curled up in a bemused expression.
"Take a walk with me," he said.
Her heart sped up as he turned and started to walk. He had gotten to the edge of the clearing before he noticed she hadn't followed. She wanted to-but it felt like her legs were glued in place.
Come on, he mouthed, beckoning her forward.
She rose quickly and fell into step next to him, stomach twirling and knees shaking.
They had barely talked all day, and they hadn't had a moment of privacy since the festival. But she found herself thinking about him more and more. All it took was one glance from him, and her pulse raced.
Their kiss relived itself constantly in her mind, in her dreams. His soft lips moving against hers for far too short a time. Her lips ached for another one.
"Where are we going?" she asked, shaking her head of those girlish thoughts.
"...I have something I want to show you," he said, smirking. He looked at her, with those probing golden eyes, and she felt that delicious tingle race down her back again.
"But it's dark outside..." she said.
She could have sworn he blushed a little, and wondered why. "I know," he said. "But it has to be dark for what I'm going to show you. They only come out at night."
"They?" she asked. "Is it an animal?"
"No," he said. "Well...maybe. It depends on how you look at it."
Katara nodded, although that made absolutely no sense.
After a time, they stopped in the middle of a large, grassy clearing. Zuko layed out a large red blanket-she hadn't even noticed he'd been carrying it, as dark as it was-and spread it carefully on the ground.
"Come on," he said. "Lie down." He layed down on the blanket, stretching out and folding his arms beneath his head.
"Why?" she asked, noting the tremor in her voice.
"Because," she could hear the frustration in his voice. "You can only see it if you're lying down...I'm not going to do anything to you, Katara.. Relax...I just want to show you this."
"Okay," she said nervously, laying on the side of the blanket opposite of him. Was...was he going to try and kiss her again? Part of her hoped he would and part of him prayed he wouldn't-
She felt the blanket shift as he scooched closer to her. Heat emanated from him, and a warm hand grabbed hers.
"Hey," he whispered, voice soft. "Look up."
And she did, reluctantly-there was nothing up there but the sky, and she knew that.
But what was up there shocked her.
"Oh," she gasped, sucking in a breath. "Oh, wow..." And he chuckled beside her, and she could almost see him visibly lighten, a weight rising off his shoulders.
Up in the wide expanse of black shone a million twinkling stars, brighter and clearer than any she had seen in her life. Some were like the snow, and others glowed a milky blue, others orange or pale pink as a new spring flower.
"If you get far enough away from the capital, you can see the stars a lot better," he whispered. "When me and Uncle were...traveling, after I was exiled, we passed through some of the colonies. And this is one of the things I remembered most..."
"Zuko?" she murmured. "Will you tell me what happened? Why...why he exiled you?"
He was silent for a long while; she opened her mouth to tell him he didn't have to talk about it if he didn't want to, but he began to speak.
"He invited me into the war room when I was fourteen. They were speaking of a new plan...of sacrificing a large troop, having them be a distraction while other forces attacked. They would all be killed, and everyone in the room knew that.
I spoke out, and told them I disagreed, that there had to be a way to do it without killing all those soldiers. Father...Ozai challenged me to an Agni Kai, as a way to regain my honor-"
"But you never lost your honor," she insisted. "You had done the honorable thing!"
"I know," he said. "But Ozai didn't see it that way.
I refused to fight him, and asked for forgiveness instead. But he told me that was a sign of weakness, refusing to fight him. He...scarred me, and told me I was a disgrace to our nation. I was exiled, and the only way I would be allowed back was if I captured the Avatar."
"Well," she said softly, " I think you did the right thing. If you hadn't been exiled, you never would have known a life outside of the Fire Nation. You could have ended up like Azula....or worse. It all happened for a reason, Zuko," she whispered. "I know that for sure."
And she squeezed his hand, ever so slightly, and he smiled into the stars.
"I know," he said. "And I wouldn't have had it any other way."
They sat in silence for a while, enjoying the heavens above.
"You don't see the stars too much in the south," she said. "Some days we have times when the sun shines for weeks. Or other times it is pitch black, and we have to use fire-sticks to see. And even then the stars are weak. And of course, you never slept outside. You were always in the tents, or else you would freeze."
"And on your travels?" Zuko asked.
"Not much," she said. "We were always too tired, or too busy, or too....whatever to spend time looking at the stars. And we never just lied out in the open...there were always trees or something in the way."
"Did I ever...hurt any of you?" he asked quickly. "When we were fighting...no one ever got hurt, did they?"
"Not really," she said carefully. "Of course, sometimes we had scrapes, or cuts, or small burns. But never anything serious."
She saw him wince. "I'm sorry," he said, and she could hear the regret and pain in his voice.
"It's okay, Zuko," she said. "I have healing abilities. As long as there was water near, I could heal whatever injury they had."
"Will they accept me?" he said, sounding like a little boy. "Will they...forgive me?"
"It might take a while, Zuko," she murmured. "But you have my vote. And they'll take that into consideration. And Toph can tell if you're lying, so she can vouch that you're telling the truth.
It might take them a while to get them to like you...but they'll accept you.
You'll have the hardest time with my brother," she said, laughing softly. "Not because of who you are, or what you've done...but because of us. This," she said, looking down at their connected hands.
"Oh?" he said, propping himself up on one elbow. "So there's an 'us' now?"
"Isn't there?" she said, meeting his smiling eyes. "Isn't that why you kissed me at the festival?"
"You never know," he said. "I may just be trying to gain your acceptance..."
"But I already accept you-"
"Good," he murmured, and he was leaning over her, blocking her view of the stars. "So you'll accept if I do this?"
But he didn't give her time to answer before his lips sealed over hers.
_ _ _ _ _ _
Her lips were warm, and soft, and the feeling of her full body squirming beneath him was almost too much to bear. His hand slid along the curve of her hip, holding her body down.
He kissed her slowly and tenderly, one hand steadying himself while the other curled in her long hair. Her breath came out in shuddering gasps, but she was kissing him back, so he took it as a sign that he move ahead.
He trailed a careful line of kisses across her cheek, along her hairline, down the sweet slope of her nose. Her eyelashes were fluttering, and he felt the swell of her chest rise and fall beneath him. Her face was warm and flushed, and her lips had swelled up, and he just had to kiss her again.
He was fiercer, this time, nibbling and sucking her bottom lip. She moaned, deep in her throat, and her hands came up to fist in his hair. She tugged him down to meet her lips, growing bolder with each passing moment.
"Katara," he murmured, voice roughened. "Oh, Katara..."
And she was kissing along his jawline, teeth nipping out to bite his earlobe. His breathing quickened as she moved to the other side of his face, kissing the tip of his nose.
She paused above his scar, waiting for permission.
He barely nodded before her lips moved over the smooth, crinkled flesh. She kissed up, to where his eyebrow should have been,and he released a deep, shuddery breath as she trailed her tongue along the glossy flesh.
He seemed to pause, and his eyes opened, wide and bright.
"You're the first person I let touch that," he whispered. And she nodded, opening her mouth to say something, anything, before he kissed her again.
But this was a different sort of kiss. It was deeper, and his tongue traced her lips before sliding into her mouth. It was softer than she expected, though, and he traced the insides of her teeth, massaging his tongue with hers.
She could hear her blood pounding through her ears as he slowed his actions. His mouth kissed down her neck, planting tiny little kisses along her collarbone before finding her pulse point and giving it a sloppy, open-mouthed kiss.
Something deep inside her core began to burn as his mouth hesitated over her neck. His breath was hot and moist and he waited.
Ad then he was biting her, sinking his teeth into her neck and slowly sucking. It was painful at first, but his tongue came out and laved attention on her wound, and her whole body was warming up. She heard a sound like the purring of a lion-cat, and realized it was coming from her own being.
He gave the bite one last kiss before moving up and gently kissing her mouth.
"Zuko..." she murmured, trailing off, and he layed down beside her and pulled her body over, onto his own.
Her head came to rest on his chest, and his hands came up to rub his back.
But she wasn't going to let him get away with that. She propped herself up on her elbows slid up his body, kissing his neck.
She felt his breathing quicken and his hands started stroking her hips. His pulse beat out a steady drumbeat and she kissed it, much like he had done to her.
And she hesitated over his neck, drawing out the tension until he was quivering beneath her. It was...exhilarating to have this much power over him, to have him shaking under her.
So she sunk her teeth into his neck and he moaned, loudly, and she suckled until she could taste the coppery tang of blood on her lips.
But he didn't seem to mind, and she felt an absurd surge of female pride at his shivery reaction to her marking. That she could make him feel as breathless as he had made her.
He pulled her down for a final, gentle kiss, and hugged her tightly. His breathing began to even out, and he felt her relax in his arms.
Her head once again found its place near his heart, and she listened as its furious beating began to slow down.
His hands came up and smoothed down her hair-it had gotten pretty tangled-and then traced down the line of her spine before settling on the small of her back.
A curious drowsiness began to overtake her, and she could almost feel Zuko smile.
"Well," he said. "That was..."
But his voice trailed off, and he was silent. He started to slowly rub her back-and that, combined with her happy feelings and sleepiness, sent her over the edge.
_ _ _ _ _ _
He felt her body go limp in his arms.
"Katara?" he whispered. "You fall asleep?"
No response.
He grinned as he sat up, cradling her body close. She was light, and warm, and apparently a very heavy sleeper.
Standing up, he grabbed the blanket and draped it over her. He walked carefully back to the campsite, setting her gently down into her sleeping bag. He tucked the blanket up around her shoulders. He felt very...protective of her right now. He brushed the hair out of her eyes before a quiet cough interrupted him.
He turned, caught his Uncle grinning at him, and shot him as sour a look as he could muster after having just made out with Katara.
"Be quiet, Uncle," he said, before lying down in his sleeping bag and looking up at the stars.
_ _ _ _ _ _
Wow. Well...I hope that was ok! I've never kissed anyone so I hope it was alright.
PLEASE REVIEW!
