Disclaimer: The Avatar world and characters belong to Mike DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko.
Katara woke to Zuko's arm wrapped around her. She was facing his bare chest, her body curled into his protective embrace. From her spot in the bed, Katara could see the morning light dancing on the wall by the door from where it cracked through the curtains behind her.
Katara tried to dismiss the guilt curling in her stomach at her inaction, realising how late in the morning it was. She had come to this town for a real reason, not to lie in bed all day with Zuko.
Katara pushed away the memory of the last time she had woken up in the same bed as Zuko, which crept into her mind. Gently, she pulled herself out of Zuko's grasp and climbed out of the bed. At the sound of her movements, Zuko opened his eyes, blinking sleepily a few times before becoming aware of his surroundings. Zuko lay still, watching her warily.
"It's time to go," Katara told him. He nodded and pushed himself up from the pillows.
Neither of them mentioned the previous night, how Katara had cried as Zuko gently rubbed circles across her back and shoulders to soothe her. When she ran out of tears, Katara had continued to shake until she had eventually drifted off to sleep. Zuko had adjusted Katara so she was lying down properly on the bed, but when he had tried to pull away, Katara had clung to him in her sleep. Zuko had been afraid of waking her up, so tiredly decided to stay next to her.
Katara told herself that last night wasn't important in the grand scheme of things; they had more important things to do than linger on thoughts of the night before. They made their way into town again, waiting in the same spot from the previous day to assess Elau. She was alone again. Katara tried to ignore Zuko's nervous glances at her as she stood up, and began to make her way to Elau's home. Zuko quickly stood up after a second of hesitation, then followed Katara.
The sky was an ominous grey blanket of cloud, they walked through the town in the light rain.
The duo approached the front door, ready to draw Elau out rather than allow a messy scramble inside her tiny bungalow.
Zuko was afraid that Katara was going to kill Elau. He could accept killing Yon Rha for revenge, but killing an innocent person just because they were related to a villain began to blur the lines in his mind about justified revenge. He had always struggled between what was wrong and what was right, but he had thought that Katara had a clearer definition. Now he wasn't so sure.
He was torn between stopping Katara to save her from making a decision that she might later regret, or allowing her to work through this in her own way.
He lost his chance. Katara knocked on the door.
After half a moment, Elau slowly opened the door, and stared at the pair dressed in black warily.
"We're here about Yon Rha." Zuko stated bluntly, moving to stand in front of Katara slightly.
"That dumb bastard's been dead for years and he still finds ways to get me in trouble," Elua grumbled. "They warned me you might be coming. Oh well, this sure isn't the first time I've taken the fall for that coward. What did he do?"
"He killed my mother." Katara stepped forward, pulling her mask down. She stared hard at Elau. "You have the same eyes as him."
A look of panic flashed across Elau's face. She might have taken the fall for Yon Rha before, but not for something as serious as murder. Before Elau could make an attempt to run, Katara used bloodbending to hold her still.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry he did that. But that wasn't me, I had nothing to do with that, please!" Elau gasped against the pain.
"You're going to take us to him."
Behind Katara, Zuko blinked in surprise before quickly controlling his reaction. It was not the direction he was expecting Katara this situation. Elau also looked bewildered.
"I just told you, he's been dead for years. Three years!" She repeated, confused.
"We know. But where is he now?" Katara insisted.
Elau swallowed nervously. "The cemetery. I don't go very often."
"Take us to him," Katara ordered. Katara released Elau and she sagged against her door frame, panting for breath. "If you try to run, I'll squeeze harder next time," Katara warned.
"What are you? Some kind of witch?" Elau asked.
"I'm a waterbender," Katara snapped back. Elau gave her an odd look. "Let's get walking."
"You should know that I don't know a lot about Yon Rha's work. He kept to himself, and kept his secrets to himself too," Elau admitted as she walked them slowly to the cemetery. Rain began to drip softly from the clouds, but none of the group seemed to care as they continued on the road towards the cemetary.
"You must know something about it, though. He was your brother," Katara insisted.
Elau shrugged. Katara wanted to shake her; now was not the time to protect her brother's secrets.
Zuko saw Katara's growing anger, and stepped in front of Elau, halting their walk.
"Look at this girl." He gestured to Katara, and Elau looked at Katara's unmasked face. "Look at her and what your brother did to her mother, and tell us what you know. You owe her that much," Zuko growled.
Katara glared at Elau, moving her her hands if to strike Elau with another bloodbending hold. Elau flinched.
"I knew he was in the navy, but for all those years that he was away at sea, I never knew he was Special Forces until he retired four years ago," Elau babbled anxiously. "I didn't know he was tasked with getting rid of the waterbenders. I was… I was horrified when he told me!"
"Seven years ago, your brother raided my village, killed my mother, and left. She wasn't a bender; she was harmless," Katara spat out.
"I'm sorry." Elau looked ashamed at the actions of her brother. Katara appeared to ignore her, instead continuing to move towards the now-visible cemetery.
"If he liked his secrets, then why did he tell you anything?" Katara asked after a brief period of silence.
They were approaching the cemetery gates now, two stone pillars formed an archway over a rotten black gate. The gate creaked open with ease as Katara marched Elau forward.
"He'd never had any friends," Elau said. "It was just us and our parents, before they passed away. His job was all he'd ever had; and then he retired. He spent his last year getting miserably drunk all the time. And one day, when he'd emptied three bottles of fire whiskey, he told me about his time in the Special Forces, and their task to kill the southern waterbenders," Elau admitted.
"But you're a bender from the Northern Water Tribe, right?" she asked. "I don't know what Yon Rha was doing, messing with the Northern Water Tribe. He was always based in the south."
"I'm from the Southern Water Tribe," Katara snapped. "Why would you assume I'm Northern tribe?"
"Because he told me that he received information that there was only one waterbender left in the Southern water tribe. He killed her. Unless he was lying…" She gestured at Katara and her water pouch.
Katara grabbed Elau by her shoulder and pushed her against the stony side of a tall tombstone. The older woman winced at the impact.
"Did he brag about it? Killing that last waterbender?" Katara hissed.
"No!" Elau cried back. "No! He never mentioned it again. I swear! Please, don't hurt me!" She began to weep.
"When did he do it?" Katara pushed. "Seven years ago?"
"I'm not sure! During their last raid on the southern tribe." Elau admitted, terrified.
Seven years ago, Katara's mother died in the last raid on her village.
"Let her go and I'll give you the information you want!" Kya had hissed at the guard when Katara had rushed in, terrified.
Katara remembered the look of pure panic on Kya's face when Katara was close to the guard. It finally clicked; Katara realised that the information the guard had wanted to know was who in the village was the last waterbender.
Katara let go of Elau in shock. Elau slid to the ground, shaking and crying. Katara was hit with the knowledge that her mother had died pretending to be the last waterbender. Her mother had died protecting Katara, had sacrificed herself for her family.
Katara stared hard at Elau. Elau, who was from the Fire Nation. A woman whose brother had actively eliminated the benders of Katara's tribe and had still been accepted and loved when she had learned of his actions.
Elau was not the cause of Katara's pain, but Katara thought about letting her fury out on her. A life for a life, even if Katara couldn't get to Yon Rha directly.
But Katara looked at the elderly woman crying on the ground, and knew that her mother would not want Elau to die for this. Katara was not like Yon Rha; she was not a murderer.
"Where is he?" Katara asked.
Katara held out her hand to the woman, and Elau flinched in response. Cautiously, she accepted Katara's help and stood up shakily, before pointing to a tombstone a few rows ahead of them.
"How did he die? I need to know," Katara said to Elau.
"It was the alcohol. After he retired, he just… drank," Elau sighed. "All the time. He was lonely and sad and bored. And he drank the rest of his life away. I couldn't stop him."
Katara nodded slowly, and began to move to where her mother's killer lay in the ground.
Zuko helped Elau walk over to Yon Rha's grave, holding her gently but firmly so she wouldn't interrupt or run away. They waited a few steps behind Katara, watching her.
Katara stood face to face with Yon Rha's gravestone silently for a few minutes as she touched the blue pendant at her neck. She kept her eyes closed and her head bowed as she contemplated her situation. This was it. This was as close as she would ever get to her mother's murderer. This was her chance to unleash her hatred and pain as she wanted to do.
She opened her eyes and looked back at the grave.
"You were wrong. You didn't kill the last southern waterbender," Katara said to the grave.
She spread her arms out wide, her feet planted together firmly on the ground, and suddenly she opened her palms. Zuko and Elau watched in wonder as the rain around them stopped mid-air.
"She died protecting the last southern waterbender," Katara declared, bending the rain droplets into a dome large enough to enclose her, Zuko, Elau, and several rows of headstones. The ongoing rain bounced pathetically against her protective dome as it grew in size. Soon it covered the entire cemetery.
"She was protecting me!" Katara shouted. She let out a fierce cry as she circled her arms in front of herself, using her bending to collapse the dome into an array of icy daggers, all flying towards Yon Rha's headstone. Elau ducked, flinching.
Katara held the army of ice daggers hanging frozen in the air, barely trembling due to Katara's tight grip on them.
As quickly as Katara had formed the ice, she let it melt away, drenching the grave instead of than destroying it.
"I'll never be able to make you pay for what you did to her," Katara said quietly. "I always wondered what kind of person could do such a thing. But you were a pathetic coward, and died sad and alone; as much as I hate you, I know now that you're not worth my time."
Katara took a step back from the grave and turned towards Elau.
"I considered it. I considered killing an innocent loved one of his to make up for the loss of an innocent loved one of mine," Katara admitted.
Elau stood shaking in fear. She had no way to run, and no way to fight. "I'm sorry for the pain he caused you and your family," she whispered to Katara, her voice trembling.
"Your death won't make my mother's death any easier. You don't deserve to die for his mistakes," Katara admitted before turning away, heading towards the exit of the cemetery.
Zuko watched Elau closely for a few seconds, checking that she wouldn't change her mind and try to attack Katara from behind; but she was too stunned and shaken up from the encounter to do anything other than stare. Zuko followed Katara out of the cemetery, and together they left the town. Katara didn't look back.
Appa looked rested when they returned to his hiding spot. Katara climbed into the saddle and Zuko silently took the reins, charting their course back to the gang as Appa rose slowly into the air at Zuko's command.
"Are you okay?" Zuko asked Katara once they were far away from the town.
She looked over at him and nodded.
They flew the rest of the journey in silence. It was a comfortable silence though, as Zuko understood that Katara needed to be alone with her thoughts.
Zuko landed Appa on Ember Island, at the empty pier by his family's old empty summer home. He had mentioned to Sokka that he thought it was the safest next place for them to hide until the Comet arrived, and that he would pick them up once they had finished their journey.
Katara slid off Appa, moving to sit at the end of the pier. She dipped her feet in the water, leaving Zuko to go back to the gang's location alone. Zuko guessed that Katara still wanted some time to herself; after all, alone time was a rare thing in such a small group, and it was important that she had some given what she was going through.
Zuko retrieved the others, and together they all headed towards Ember Island. He explained to Aang and the others what had happened during his and Katara's trip so that she wouldn't have to.
When they landed, Aang jumped off of Appa, running towards the pier. Zuko followed at a slower pace, stopping at the start of the pier.
"Katara!" Aang called as he ran towards Katara, who had been staring off at the sunset. "Are you okay?"
"I'm doing fine," Katara told Aang, still looking at the water.
"Zuko told us what you did," Aang continued. "Or what you didn't do, I guess. I'm proud of you."
Katara let out a small sigh of relief. Aang's opinion meant a lot to her, even if they didn't always see eye to eye.
"I wanted to do it," Katara confessed, her shoulders sagging forwards. "But I couldn't. I don't know if it's because I'm too weak to do it, or if it's because I'm strong enough not to."
"You did the right thing," Aang reassured her. "Forgiveness is the first step towards healing."
Katara stood up, turning to look at Aang.
"But I didn't forgive him," Katara admitted. "I'll never forgive him."
Katara looked over at Zuko, who had been standing a few feet away from them. "But I am ready to forgive you," she told him.
Katara walked towards Zuko and reached her arms up around his shoulders. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. Katara had meant to give him a light, friendly hug, but once she was in his arms she clung to Zuko harder, burying her face into his shoulder. Zuko tightened his arms in response. After everything that had happened, Katara needed this hug, this support from Zuko, for a little while longer
"Thank you," Katara whispered.
She squeezed Zuko once more before releasing him and walking towards Sokka.
Sokka gave her an understanding look as she approached him, and put his arm around her shoulder comfortingly. The two of them moved towards the beach, leaving the gang and the house behind them as they looked for a spot of privacy.
"I'm sorry about what I said to you. About mom," Katara told Sokka. They sat on the beach near the house, overlooking the waves. Sokka took her hand.
"Katara you don't need to apologize, you were just upset. I get it."
Katara shook her head.
"No. It was hurtful of me and it's not true. I know you loved her."
Sokka squeezed Katara's hand gently as he stared at the sand by his feet, He swallowed thickly and nodded.
"And I'm sorry that I didn't bring you. I guess I was just bitter that you didn't bring me to rescue dad, and then when you disagreed with me I thought the mission would be easier without you. But it was wrong of me. I sometimes forget that I don't have a monopoly on all the pain in the world, or even a monopoly on all the pain on losing Mom," Katara explained.
"I'm sorry you went through it alone," Sokka told her quietly. Katara squeezed his fingers back, and gave him a small smile.
"I wasn't alone."
Sokka asked Katara questions about what it was like to try and face Kya's killer, and they exchanged feelings at the bittersweet knowledge that the man was already dead. It was hard to talk about it; their mother's death wasn't something they often discussed, but Katara knew it was important for them to talk about what had happened. Kya was just as much Sokka's mother as she was Katara's.
They sat in the sand and talked about their mother, what they remembered and missed about her.
Suki briefly approached them with bowls of food in her hands for dinner before leaving them alone once more. Sokka and Katara ate outside as the sky grew darker. Katara was ravenous; finally, her appetite had come back.
Eventually, the weather began to turn cold. Sokka and Katara headed inside, ready to re-join the group. Katara hugged her brother before stepping away.
"Are you going to bed?" Sokka asked as she headed towards the bedrooms.
Katara shook her head. "Not yet. There's something I still need to do."
Sokka nodded at Katara and made his way over to Aang, Toph, and Suki, who were playing a game of Pai Sho in the living room.
Katara timidly knocked on the wooden door as she stood in of Zuko's doorway. She internally reprimanded herself for being so shy, and held her chin up high as Zuko looked over, putting down the scroll he'd been reading at the sound and standing up to face the door.
He looked bewildered to see Katara at his door. Flashbacks of his first evening at the Air Temple with the gang and Katara's not so subtle threats briefly crossed his mind. For a second he thought that Katara had changed her mind again, and Zuko wondered if she was here to re-declare her hate for him. Zuko also lifted his chin up and crossed his arms across his chest; he wasn't going to let her do it. They were finally making progress! He wasn't going to let that slip through his fingers.
Katara noticed Zuko's defensive posture, and nerves crept back into her stomach, her brief moment of confidence disappearing.
"I, uh…" she stammered. "Can we talk?"
Zuko's eyes widened in surprise at her cautious approach, unused to it. He uncrossed his arms and nodded quietly, gesturing for her to enter the room. He sat back down at the side of his bed as Katara stepped towards him
"What about?" He asked curiously.
Katara sat down next to him on the bed. She stared at her knees, took a breath, and then looked back over at him.
"About our marriage." Katara said. Zuko swallowed nervously and nodded again.
"I'm ready to accept it, the fact that we are… married," Katara began. "I'm sorry I wouldn't before; it was just such a mistake, and I sort of hoped that if I didn't agree to it then it wouldn't count." Katara was rambling, but she couldn't stop herself. Zuko listened in stunned silence.
"I'm not saying, I want a relationship!" she continued. "Not a romantic relationship, at least. I'm ready for us to be friends. And I still want a divorce if the Fire Court will allow it, or if they don't accept me or whatever. Ugh, what I'm trying to say is… I'm not going to fight you about it anymore. We can work as a team, and concentrate our efforts on finishing this damn war."
Zuko was in shock. He was tempted to pinch himself to check that this moment was actually happening. They'd been arguing about the marriage for nearly a month; the moment felt too surreal.
Zuko's silence made Katara more nervous with each beat. "Okay?" She checked.
Zuko nodded, and Katara raised an eyebrow at him, prompting actual speech.
"Okay. Yeah," Zuko managed to get out. "Thank you."
"Okay," Katara repeated. It was a small step towards improving things between them. Standing up off the bed, she dusted off her clothes out of nervous habit and headed out of the room. She stopped at the doorway, looking back at Zuko, who was still staring at her. She gave him a shy smile, before walking away down the hall.
Zuko sat still for another few moments before falling on his back against his bed. Staring up at the ceiling of his old room, Zuko couldn't stop the grin slowly spreading across his face.
