Disclaimer: I don't own ATLA
XII. Belong
A house is made of walls and beams
A home is built with love and dreams.
~ Unknown
For the middle of nowhere, this place is not that bad, Katara reflected as she watched Zuko stoke the campfire. She and the others were huddled around a small fire in the middle of some unknown forest, enjoying the last day of their vacation before Zuko and Mai returned to the Fire Nation, Toph to Gaoling, and Suki to Kyoshi Island. Katara wasn't really looking forward to leaving her friends, but it was comforting to know that it was only for a short while and really just to tie up some loose ends. It seemed so strange to be splitting up though. After Toph leaves, it'll just be me, Sokka, Suki, and Aang, she realized. She didn't know if that was good or bad.
"I can't believe I'm finally going home after all this time," Toph said, her sightless green eyes fixed on the campfire. Katara glanced at Toph in surprise. There was a hint of excitement in her voice and Katara began wondering. Toph had never expressed any enthusiasm to return to Gaoling.
"Are you sad?" Suki asked, noticing her demeanor change slightly.
"Are you kidding? I can't wait. I love travelling and saving the world was fun, but I think it's time I went home to fix things up with my parents."
"What if they don't let you leave again?" the Kyoshi warrior wondered.
Toph shrugged. "I'll run away again. I know it'll be hard on them, but now that I've been all over the place, there's no way I can go back to being shut away from the world again."
Suki smiled, knowingly.
"It's going to be so strange not seeing everyone," Mai said. "I don't know how, but I've gotten used to all of you."
Sokka grinned. "That's because we're not evil Fire Nation royalty trying to control you in every possible way."
"Sometimes, I think I'd prefer Azula to you and your bad jokes," Mai muttered and Sokka scowled. Mai shook her head, but there was the tiniest smile on her face. Zuko shook with silent laughter beside her and Katara joined in.
"I can't believe I'm saying this," Zuko said. "But I'm really going to miss you guys."
Toph smiled. "Trust me; you won't miss us that much. You've gotten so used to us, we're like family."
"Besides my uncle, you guys are the closest thing to family I have. I know my father and Azula are still around, but they're in prison and I think they'd rather see me dead than consider me as part of the family."
"Well, we don't," Toph pointed out. "If it makes any difference."
"It strange, isn't it?" Sokka said, thoughtfully. "I never really thought much about it, but we really are like a family."
It was strange, but now that Katara thought of it, the others were her family as much as her father and grandparents were. Together, they were a motley crew: three warriors, an earthbender, a firebender, a waterbender and the Avatar. It was a strange and unconventional family, but Katara knew she wouldn't trade them for anyone else. She still found it strange that after being hunted down by Zuko and occasionally, Mai, she still considered them family. She certainly had enough reasons to hate Zuko and even a few to hold a grudge against Mai, but they were still part of the odd family that they all comprised.
Katara smiled to herself. Sometimes, they certainly acted like a family, always arguing and fighting over things. Especially Sokka and Zuko.
"I'm actually looking forward to going back," Zuko said. "I love vacations, but there's so much that needs to be done and I've got some great ideas and…"
"We get it," Sokka said. "Glad you're happy to go back to work, Zuko."
"Some of us aren't," Suki said, pointedly. "I've got a mountain load of stuff to do back home and a bunch of new girls to train."
"Oh don't worry," Katara said, speaking up for the first time. "Sokka will help. After all, he loves dressing up in warrior's clothes."
Sokka buried his face in his hands and Suki giggled. "That's what I'm afraid of."
Later, after they had all disbanded, Katara and Aang sat on their sleeping bags some distance away from the others, partly hidden by the shrubbery and watched the stars. It was rather late, but neither of them seemed to mind. A few fluffy clouds floated lazily overhead and Katara idly wondered what it was like to jump on a cloud. She laughed at the memory of Aang trying it during their travels.
"What's so funny?" Aang asked.
"I was just thinking about the time you jumped into a cloud to see what it was like," she replied.
"Looking back, it probably wasn't the smartest thing I did."
"No, it definitely wasn't," Katara agreed.
"Hey, at least I didn't steal a waterbending scroll," he pointed out.
"Well, where did you think the pirates got it from?" she shot back. "They must have taken it from one of the Water Tribes."
"Probably," he conceded. "Speaking of the Water Tribe, are you going back home?"
"I don't know," Katara admitted. She should have found the question a little strange since she and Sokka had planned on going with him to Kyoshi Island to drop Suki off, but she knew why he was asking. Even though Sokka hadn't said anything, they both knew that he was likely to change his mind.
"You're not miserable, are you?" Aang asked, half-joking, half serious as she released a sigh.
Katara shook her head. She missed her family, but she certainly wasn't miserable with Aang. She honestly didn't know if she was ready to go home, though. She had always assumed that the others, or at least Aang, would accompany her, but now, she wasn't so sure. Would he even want to go back to the South Pole with her? And more importantly, would she want to go back? Now that she had seen the world, she wasn't so sure if she could resign herself to the monotony of life in the South Pole. She wasn't sure she could leave Aang either. She cast a glance at Sokka and Suki. They were sitting some distance away, wrapped in their sleeping bags and talking in hushed tones. She knew Sokka wouldn't return home if he didn't have to, unless Suki came with him.
"Where do you want to go?" Katara asked.
Aang shrugged. "I don't really mind where we go."
"You said we," Katara noted.
"You didn't think I was going to leave you, did you?"
"Well, I just assumed…"
"I'll only leave if you tell me to."
Katara laughed. When had she ever been able to tell him to leave? "I don't think that's going to happen."
"Good," he chuckled. "Because I don't think I was going to leave."
"Who am I to argue with that?" She smiled and suddenly yawned. She hadn't realized how sleepy she was.
"We should probably go to sleep," Aang said softly, noticing that all the others except for Zuko and Mai had fallen asleep and that Katara could barely keep her eyes open.
Katara nodded. "We probably should."
"Do you want to go home?" Aang asked, as he crawled into his sleeping bag. It had been a long time since Katara had seen her family and though she hid it well, he could tell she missed her family.
Katara thought for a moment. She wouldn't have minded going back home, but she wasn't particularly anxious to leave for the South Pole. Home, she realized, didn't always mean being with parents and extended family members. Home was being surrounded by people you loved and people who loved you. It reminded her of the old saying. Home is where the heart is.
Katara slipped into her sleeping bag, and curling up beside Aang, let out a small laugh. "I am home," she whispered before drifting off to sleep.
