A/N: Mwahaha, school holidays. :D That may mean more writing, but it seems that I am busy… So, I was going to have this chapter done last Friday, read over/procrastinate on Saturday, and update on Sunday. Nice plan, huh? But I didn't do that because… I WENT TO WATCH THE SCRIPT! Live in concert! Oh gosh, it was fantastic! *o* I've still got the songs stuck in my head. And Danny O'Donoghue is just amazing; in terms of singing, stage personality, and looks. ;)

Ahem, anyway, that nice plan for this chapter was postponed, even though I wanted the chapter to be up earlier… Thank you for bearing with me! I hope you enjoy Katara's stinging feelings of rejection. U_U Or could it be Zuko's?

Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender is not owned by me. This plot is not stolen from anywhere (in case that's valid to a Disclaimer) but my Script-loving mind.

Chapter 14: Home is Where the Heat is

On the way to Ember Island was when Katara noticed that Zuko's behaviour was quite unusual. She had concluded a few things from breakfast, casual observations, and right this moment on Appa's saddle: for one, he only acknowledged her presence if she spoke or was mentioned by someone else; two, he only spoke to her when she spoke to him; and three… squirming sealguanas, what was his problem? Weren't they past this? Because she was done with feeling awful for something she should not feel awful for – like this. She had increased the defenses, brainwashed herself with warped reasoning, and was making it fine after twenty-four hours had passed. Fighting indifferent, nonchalant fire with indifferent, nonchalant fire – that was her aim as of yesterday. It was a good decision, she thought. But now he was pretty much ignoring her, and that had potential to douse her indifferent, nonchalant fire – because she could not ignore him. If only it was easier to accept and move along… Heck, it was not even a proper kiss!

"It's a good day for flying," Aang said matter-of-factly from his perch on Appa's head. "The clouds are perfect. No one will see us like this."

"I can't see you anyway," remarked Toph, sprawled on her back in the centre of the saddle.

Katara laughed. It felt good to laugh, to feel the summer breeze against her cheeks, to pretend that the brooding firebender sitting diagonally from her was not bothering her in the slightest. "I'm glad that you're feeling better, Aang."

Aang flinched. "Me too…"

At least she knew that if he turned around, there would be no hazy eyes and puffy dark rings. Everything would have been downright dandy if Toph were still speaking to Sokka, and if Zuko would chill out. That was all he needed to do, though she supposed it would be hard, considering he could manipulate fire. Chilling out did not come naturally to firebenders. Perhaps she should start another attempt to coax him out of this dreary phase…

"Are we getting closer to Ember Island?" she asked Aang.

"Yup." He pointed downwards at the mound of land before them; tiny dots the size of ants were scurrying around a broad, sandy beach – some in the water – and most of the island was covered in hills of varying size, the houses built against them or even on top of them. "I have no clue which beach house it is, though… Zuko?"

"Only one at the tip of the other end of the island – Ozai had it built for privacy. Even now, I bet no one goes there."

Katara turned upon hearing his voice. "Ha, other end of the island? Remember?" She smiled affectedly, trying to pierce his shield, but all she got was the momentary quirk of the mouth as he smiled… somewhat.

Toph yawned and stretched. "You sure your sister didn't plan it that way? Y'know, to be isolated?"

Zuko snorted and smirked at the earthbender in front of him. "Well, we have got a beach to ourselves… How's your sandbending coming?"

"Are you hinting something at me?" Toph, still lying down, folded her arms. It went unnoticed that Katara had rolled her eyes and propped her elbow on the saddle's rim, sulking.

"Depends on how you take it." Zuko spread his arms across the rim of the saddle and leaned his head back, letting the breeze pick up his thin black hair. Twisting his neck to just catch a glimpse of the area below Appa, he frowned. "Aang, you might wanna fly around the island, not straight over it."

The younger boy's posture suddenly stiffened, jerked from a fantasy nobody had gathered he was in. "Yeah, sorry. I wasn't paying much attention," he said as he gave a hard pull on the reins, steering Appa to the right.

Suki, who was seated next to a sleeping Sokka, had been peering down at the people on the beach as if they were ants creeping up to steal from her picnic basket. She spoke then, to Zuko. "D'you know what's bothering him?" she whispered.

He shrugged and replied in an even quieter voice. "It could be the Comet. I've been wondering about it too."

At the front of the saddle, Katara's straining ears finally picked up a clue to Zuko's behaviour. It's only stress because of the Comet! A very light, hopefully subtle smile played at her lips; it was also quite smug, for she considered this something of a victory. Zuko could not, and would not, try to leave her out of the loop. She had hoped her experience with him would at least allow her to be able to decipher him later – but after things had been resolved, she was finding it a challenge. Now she was taking this little discovery as proof that she could not be kept from anything, especially things related to him. It was… a relief?

"Hey, Katara, could you give us some cover?" Aang asked without turning.

"Hm?" Katara sat up, removing her elbow from the saddle and dissolving her smile. "Using clouds?" She glanced around, noticing that the direction they were going in was clearer.

"Yup. We're going lower. Need some help?"

"Don't worry – I'll be all right." Katara shakily stood, trying not to lose her balance. Aang had started to fly more steadily, allowing her to easily move into a waterbending stance; there was a small space between her right leg and left leg, as the former was directly behind to strengthen the stance. After lifting her right arm, she brought it swooping down to meet with her outstretched left arm; the white clouds above followed the movement and flew down beneath Appa, forming a curve. Since there were no clouds to her left, she slowly moved her left arm across her right, forming an 'x' shape. Fast as a scorpion bee, she swiped her left arm back to the left, forcing clouds to rush over the occupants of the saddle. Muttering an apology, Katara ordered the clouds to finish the arc by joining onto the end of the bottom curve and going up and around to meet the other end of it. She ignored the fact that Zuko's eyes were on her, ignored that the air had become disturbed and was surging over them all. She made a spinning motion with her arms after lifting them upwards and outwards, and now the cocoon that would disguise Team Avatar was complete. She stopped making the spinning motion after a while, fingers spread out at the level of her hips. If the speed of the spinning clouds died down, she would have to speed it up again, but for now she just had to hold the spherical shape.

"So, you can cloudbend on your own…" Zuko said quietly, unconsciously staring, almost as if he had not meant to say it at all.

She did not know her chest was heaving until then. "Yes," she replied breathlessly.

He chuckled. "I guess I shouldn't doubt your abilities again."

She gave a smirk and broke the gaze. "I hope that means I can doubt yours."

"You didn't seem to doubt them when I saved you from being fried by lava."

"That was lucky." She rolled her eyes. "Don't forget that I saved you from drowning in the pond."

"Actually, you stopped me from hitting the ice."

"Oh, yeah…"

"And then I pulled you in and saved you again," he said flippantly.

"Whoa, wait!" interrupted Suki before Katara could reply. "You almost got fried by lava?" She stared at Katara in disbelief.

Toph's arm struck out, pointing… nowhere in particular. "And you nearly die by ice?" Suki, still with the disbelief, reached out and readjusted Toph's arm so that it pointed directly at Zuko. "Thank you, Fangirl," murmured Toph.

"No problem."

Katara refrained from cocking her head at them – Toph was not upset with Suki? It was obvious she was upset about the engagement, or at least something to do with that. "Yes," she answered their questions.

"Seriously?" Suki and Toph spoke in unison.

"Yeah. I saved her when she decided to experiment with lava," said Zuko.

"I'm so glad you used the right term for that, Zuko." Ah, she never forgot to include that cutting tone whenever she said his name. "But I saved him from hitting the ice after…"

"After Hawky made off with your mother's necklace," finished Zuko.

Katara placed a lingering look on him; it did not have much of an expression to it, but was soon smothered by a wide grin. Her voice returned to her, and she let out a hysterical laugh. "You said Hawky's name!"

He raised his eyebrow. "Wha-"

"You said you'd never say that name out loud!" she managed between giggles.

Zuko balled his fist and gave it a shake of mock rage. "Shoot," he hissed. When he looked up, he saw Suki and Toph's gazes coolly slide off in other directions. He narrowed his eyes slightly; it was made evident that they had been watching his and Katara's exchange with growing interest. He looked back at Katara, who was licking her lips and fidgeting as she tried to stop laughing, her cheeks wiped with a faint red due to the embarrassment of having laughed that long. He still enjoyed it when Katara laughed, still enjoyed that little smile whenever she was pleased – but he had not seen it in a long time. He was doing his utter best to stay away from her, to act as if he felt nothing for her, to convince himself that he was not worthy of her. She kept on trying to interact with him – perhaps she was pitying him, or perhaps she was having second thoughts about the aftermath of the mission… like the second thoughts that filled his mind ever since she had rejected him. There was a part of him that did not believe her, that wanted to pull her aside once they landed and refuse to let things continue like this. His fingers clenched the rim of the saddle as he watched her speaking to Suki and Toph, stifling the urge to bring it up right now and right here. It gave him a hollow feeling in his chest when he successfully submerged those thoughts and feelings in the recesses of his mind. And now, this was the part of him that acted as if things were fairly simple between them – that the bonds they had forged had never been forged at all.

Katara's eyes locked onto his after she noticed how silent he had gone. She hoped he was not falling back into that odd behaviour – but her hopes were let down when he looked away, expressionless. Well, if that was how he wanted things, then fine! She would not stop trying to converse, because that was what they would do if they were as normal as she had plotted. Fighting fire with fire, killing with kindness… "Cabbage slugs," she muttered absently.

He immediately turned back to look at her, surprising her. "Not that again."

However, before she could reply, there was a small whoosh of air and Aang grumbled. He was looking between Katara and Zuko almost accusingly. "Would you guys please stop fooling around? There's a hole in the cover, Katara."

The hole was directly above Aang, in a perfect circle through the cloud. Katara frowned. Funny, she did not remember releasing her hold and focus on the cloud, no matter how much she had been laughing. That rush of air… Had Aang just done that on purpose? But that was absurd; there was no reason she could think of for him to do that. Shaking her head and dismissing it as an accident, she lifted her arms again. "Sorry, Aang. I'll fix it."

Fire Lord Ozai's beach house looked like something out of a painting, a place that could easily be used as the idyllic backdrop for an average family's portrait.

Of course, Zuko had been right – the gigantic house was built in the shade of a large, pointed mass of rock that towered over it, shielding any prying eyes from view. The rock could have been cut to specifically fit the house in front of it. Around the house were more heaps of heavy grey rocks, even on the long grass embracing the zigzagging dirt path that stretched down to the private beach. The other end of the path met with a small flight of stairs, which led up to the porch of the once-happy summer home.

The roofs were in a typical Fire Nation style; red pagodas that had faded over time, but the golden lining on them could have been brand new. The walls were a clean white with many windows and darker masonry, forming the wider front part of the house and the only slightly narrower part on the left side, which was joined to the towering rock by a square turret. Another turret like that stuck out all the way on the right side of the house, but unlike the left side's, it clashed with a thick throng of trees; the opening of the forest accessible with stairs and a gate. But these things – the forest, the rock, and the structure of the main house – all made up the frame of a spacious limestone courtyard. At the core of this courtyard was a fountain without water, but the aerial view the group was being given did not allow its shape to be discerned.

The rocky brown sand out on the beach looked as though it was untouched by life but beaten by weather until Appa's smooth landing; the best landing out of his most recent, actually. Leaving the flying bison to wriggle his big toes in the sand, the group trudged along the path and up the stairs. The others stood back as Zuko roughly shoved open the heavy double doors. Inside, he waited patiently as his friends stared questioningly at what they could see of the shadowy entrance hall; the chairs, shelves and sculptures, paintings and mirrors were all covered with white sheets, save for the sconces and a single cabinet at the end of the room. A shiver went down Katara's spine. Toph cleared her throat and successfully broke the eerie silence, impatiently instigating a race to each claim a bedroom.

It was a scramble, mainly of relief to escape the gloomy entrance hall. Katara was pretty sure that she would end up with the worst room due to how slow she was, and that she would get lost… Do they already know their way around? Am I forgetting something? She was probably on the other end of the house by now, having wondered aimlessly through the maze of interconnecting corridors that made up the top level – where the sleeping quarters were – of all two sides of the big house.

She huffed in frustration as she stomped past a balcony that looked out onto the private beach, and around a corner, moose-lion skin bag in her murderous grip after having fallen many times. She found that this entire space was short and unoccupied; through a window she could see that this was the turret beside the forest, and by the oversized Fire insignia on the bedroom door, she concluded that it was the Fire Lord's old bedroom. Katara backed away and went along the corridor she had come from. She stepped through the archway that was diagonally opposite the balcony, and was hit with a realization. This house was made up of the front part and the left part, and those parts were split into only two corridors each… So basically she had been wandering this carpeted level like an idiot, when this could have been much easier! No wonder everyone else had already settled into their rooms!

"Dang it!" She lashed out at the wall beside an elegantly carved door, and furiously claimed the room behind the door as hers. Throwing it open, she found a fairly big space, with a wooden floor and a long red rug covering the length of the room. It was nice and simple, a dressing table and a chest of drawers beside a pair of wide windows in the centre of the room, and the items necessary for ablutions near the far right wall, which was decorated with summery patterns in varying shades of gold. There was a single, bare bed against the far left wall – every wall was undecorated save for the wall on the right. But the thing that made such a modest room take Katara's breath away was the view through the curtainless window. Sure, the rock obstructed what would have been an even better view, but what she saw now was gorgeous: it must have been closer to dusk, for there were streaks of blue, orange, red and purple in the sky. The sunlight seemed to project these colours onto the rock before her, including the colours of the house and just a light dusting of the trees' green. It could only be seen from this position, and she thought that if the sun sank lower, the rock would appear like the sun did on the eclipse. It was lovely, and surprising that it was even possible.

Katara glanced downwards, out the window. There was a lower set of the traditional roofs, commonly awnings, which also lined the courtyard. If she climbed out the window, she could easily stand on the pointy awning directly outside of it and get an even closer look; just something she could do to see how this sight came to be. Before she could wholly do this, there was a light rap on her open door. Placing her bag on the floor before the window, she turned to find Suki leaning against the doorframe.

"Picked your room, huh?" She tilted her head and looked past Katara. "That's really pretty."

Katara smiled. "Yeah… What's going on?"

"Aang and Zuko wanna show us some new firebending moves. But you don't even have to leave your room to watch!"

Oh, right, I can even see the courtyard from this room. "Huh, that's a good idea…" said Katara with exaggerated intrigue. "Care to join me, Suki?"

She giggled. "Nah, I'm gonna take a look around the town square. Sokka wants to go shopping."

"Again?"

"Mmm. We're wearing disguises. Turns out he and I have similar interests." Suki shrugged.

Katara laughed. She was preparing for Suki to tell her about the engagement she secretly knew about. The Kyoshi Warrior and her brother had been spending an awful amount of time together lately – planning, perhaps? "You crazy kids go ahead – just don't overspend," she said lamely after a moment in which Suki confided nothing. Okay, so she didn't tell me anything… That doesn't bother me at all. No, I'm totally fine with it. Totally fine!

"I don't trust myself." Suki dramatically placed a hand to her chest. "Tell me if anyone gets fried while we're gone."

It was an effort not to sound dry and offended. "Sure will."

"I don't get why she didn't tell you." Toph frowned as she faced Aang and Zuko's training session, chin propped on both hands. She and Katara sat in the shade of the awnings; it turned out that they covered rows of concrete stands surrounding the courtyard, held up by wooden bars. Between the stands and the rock and surrounding walls were thin walkways which were rimmed with shrubs, also covered. "She couldn't stop jumping around that afternoon."

Katara bit her lip. "You know, I never thought Sokka would be that…"

"Stupid? Irresponsible? Crazy?" offered Toph.

"Serious," amended Katara gently. "I never thought he'd be that serious."

Toph snorted. "He is Sokka."

"Speaking of which," Katara's eyes slid over to Toph, "you were meant to tell me something about that."

A wry smile tugged at Toph's mouth. "Oh yeah… Guess I could count on you to remember."

"Well, you did leave me hanging at a bad time."

She chortled, and then took a deep breath. "I know. And you've gotta promise to never tell anyone about this."

"I promise – you know I wouldn't tell anyone else."

"True, but I also have a condition." Toph's celery eyes pierced hers, even though the younger girl probably could not feel the intensity that Katara felt from it. "You have to tell me what happened with you and Zuko."

"All right, but… not now."

"Why?"

"I need to process it," Katara said the first thing that came to mind. The stands beneath them were stone – Toph would be able to sense if that statement was true.

Oddly, she did not argue and accepted it with a little nod. She shut her eyes and ducked her head, placing her hands on her green headband as if she were protecting her skull from exploding. "I'm not sure about the engagement," she said in a voice that could nearly be drowned out by the fire blasts in the background. "It just doesn't feel right."

"But why?" Katara thought that she would know the answer, but chose to wait for Toph's confirmation.

It startled Katara when Toph suddenly reached out with one hand and clutched the waterbender's wrist. "Please, Katara," she whispered. "Please don't tell anyone. Please…"

"Oh, Toph…" Katara could not resist curling her free hand around Toph's shoulders and pulling her closer. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. Only if you're all right. And you don't look like it – just relax."

"No!" she protested. "I have to tell you. I can't keep it in forever." Her grip on Katara's wrist was vice-like. "I shouldn't even be feeling this angry. But don't get me wrong – I'm so happy for Suki and Sokka. Really, I am. But I can't shake this feeling. I was meant to be over it, and I could've sworn I was. I just don't understand why…"

"Why what? What is it?" Katara tried to mask how nosy she sounded.

"Ugh…" Toph chewed her lip, showing rare uncertainty. "I used to like Sokka," she breathed finally, her shoulders slumping after the confession. It seemed to make her calmer. She swallowed. "I used to like-like him – a lot. He made me less scared of flying, treated me like an equal the whole way through, and… I just really liked him. I'd never had crushes before; it was so different. I was happy… This sounds stupid, doesn't it?"

"Not at all!"

Toph gave a little smile. "Then Suki came into the picture and I liked her too – she was a good friend and kinda cool. She has her lame moments, but those are all part of her character, and I liked her enough. And then Suki and Sokka got together. It was… sweet, and because they were both special to me, I wanted them to be happy. I swear I did. For a while, I didn't even have feelings for Sokka anymore. He was my close friend and I didn't mind it. It was all right to stay that way, and he seemed to genuinely love Suki – she obviously returned it. Remember those times when we were up late, and she'd go on and on about him?"

"Yeah… A little corny, but I suppose it was sweet."

"Ha, got that right… So, I was happy for them. But I dunno… As soon as I heard they were getting engaged, I was really shocked. I was angry. And I didn't even know why! I just felt like that all of a sudden. But I also thought it was rushed and maybe they needed to think things through. Marriage is a hectic commitment! Now I get this mixed feeling – I'm not sure whether it's because I don't want everyone to grow up without me, whether I don't like him, or whether I do like him. I'm so confused, Katara…" She groaned and let her face fall into her lap.

Katara's arm was still on Toph's back. She had pretended to not be taken aback at all with Toph's confession; secretly, she was wanting to coo, and struggled not to place a hand to her chest and babble about how cute it is. That was for the first part. For the second part, Katara had something she hoped would help Toph, even if it was just a little bit. Her blue eyes were fixed on the fire blasts shooting from Zuko and Aang in front of them. "Well, maybe a part of you still likes him. Maybe… you're just worried about if their relationship doesn't work and someone will get hurt. Because you still like him a little, and you care about Suki, you probably just need reassurance that this is the right path for them, and no one is going to get hurt."

"Yeah." Toph sat up. "Go on…"

"Or…" Katara watched as Zuko demonstrated a fire disk, a sheet of sweat forming on his bare, chiseled torso. "You didn't get the chance to tell him that you like him, and you're secretly upset about it…"

"I think we should stick to the first one. Carry on, anyway."

"Oh, well, don't think you're not allowed to feel this way – you can, but I don't think it's good for any of you, especially if you keep with the tension and hostility." Katara looked away when Zuko noticed her staring and glanced at her. "You shouldn't be afraid of feelings, Toph, and it's great that you told me this, but please don't punish Suki, Sokka and yourself?"

"…I'll definitely try." Toph took another deep breath. "But what if I want to stop feeling like this? I wanna stop, but the only way is to tell them, and I don't want them to know that I… liked Sokka."

"Uh… Wait, I know! Don't say that you liked him. Say that you care about them both, a lot. It's the truth, but Sokka's not bright enough to figure out how you mean it, and Suki won't pick it up. You know, none of us could pick it up this whole time!" Katara paused. "And you know that you mustn't break them up, right?"

"Of course. I just told you I care for them too much," Toph stated as though it were the most obvious fact ever.

"Good. But in my opinion, I'm sure they'll be happy together."

"Actually, I know it too," said Toph, raising her eyebrows. "But I think I needed to talk to someone, and I feel much better now that I talked to you."

"But you still have to talk to them alone, okay?"

Toph grinned. "Yep. I need the closure. And thanks – surprisingly, you know a lot about this stuff, Katara."

She sighed. "Well, I know how it feels to like somebody but not like them at the same time," she said quietly.

"I'm glad that you're back." Toph reached over and punched Katara's arm.

"Ouch!" Katara cried, as Aang completed the move Zuko had demonstrated. "Um, yeah… me too. Wow, you punch hard."

Dinnertime was spent outside on the stands, the members of Team Avatar letting their skin drink in the heat of the night air. Zuko had brewed a pot of Ginseng tea – his uncle's favourite, apparently – as a 'welcome' to his family's old holiday home, and now after dinner, the group was sitting in a cluster pretending to enjoy said tea. To bide time and avoid drinking it, set in place was a conversation, the topic of which being pilfering and scamming.

"…And then I ignored him until he walked away with that deranged bearded cat of his," said Sokka, finishing the recount of his afternoon adventure in the town square with a sweep of the arm.

Suki tittered and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, so while Sokka was trying to avoid being asked directions to the main beach, I picked up this flyer." She plucked a tatty piece of paper lying next to her and held it up, beside her head, so that her friends could see. "Apparently, there was a play showing the adventures of Team Avatar."

Toph sighed. "Again, you people think I can see what's on the paper!"

"Sorry," said Suki. "If it helps, you look…" She trailed off uncertainly, staring at the masculine and crudely done image of Toph's character in the corner of the yellow paper. "…Um, you look fine. Just fine, Toph."

Toph propped her head on her elbow and scratched her head. "I'm played by an adorable, kitty-loving little girl, aren't I?"

There was a moment's silence before everyone burst out laughing, Sokka managing to shed tears, and some pounding their fists on the stands. "What? What'd I say?" asked Toph, her palms turning skyward as she raised her arms in confusion. She grunted when Katara gave a breathless apology and the laughing subsided, chests heaving.

Suki cleared her throat. "I'm gonna put the flyer down now." A few more giggles.

Sokka hooked his arm on her shoulder and leaned his weight heavily on her, sighing. "Too bad we missed it."

"We did? Aw, I would've wanted to see it." Katara reached for the flyer beside Suki. "Hey… do I really look that fat?" She pointed out her blushing drawing to Aang.

"No," he said. His grey eyes ran over the dreamy text across the overstated main picture, and then the text at the bottom below a picture of the director, which told of the actors and their respective characters. "But… I think I'm played by a girl."

"No way." Toph cracked a devilish smile. "No way."

Sokka grabbed the flyer from Katara's hand, momentarily admiring his masculine picture, and read the bottom, a smile that stretched from ear to ear quickly forming. "Yes way, Toph. Aang is played by a bald pre-teen girl!"

The laughing was struck up again – just a tad toned down as time had caught up with them, making them more tired – with the exception of Aang who was slouching lower and lower, trying to cover up his flushed cheeks. Katara noticed that, whereas the group started laughing again while stifling yawns and rubbing eyes, Toph only smiled along at what Sokka had said. She probably didn't get the chance to talk to them yet. Or she's as tired as I am. Aang held up his hands. "Can we talk about stealing again?"

"Sure, sure," said Suki. It was getting late now, the laughter taking more effort to be natural and uninterrupted by yawning. "How did a cute girl steal the role from the other manly actors?"

Sokka chuckled. "She must've stolen the director's heart!"

Katara beamed, eyes hazing for a moment, and caught snippets of Zuko mumbling to himself through a yawn. A hushed utterance of how… something along the lines of the aforementioned was stolen from him…? Katara narrowed her eyes, and forgot to be aloof when her emotions flared. "What did you say?" she snapped at Zuko, a deep scowl on her face.

He looked at her solemnly. "A normal bed was stolen from me when I went with you on the mission," he said slowly before turning to the others. "Good night, guys."

Katara bitterly watched his retreating back, mentally scolding herself for slipping up like that. When she turned away to face the remaining members, she felt Aang's eyes on her. Looking up at the boy sitting one step above her, she saw something strange in his eyes. His expression was blank, but his eyes were glued on her, and carried enough meaning to let Katara know that Aang had heard what Zuko said. And if she could expand that, he maybe even had a sense of what had happened between them…

Tearing her gaze from the boy, Katara frowned at her hands in her lap. Such a pleasant evening turned cold, such a strange slip-up in her patience, such a confusing thing going on between her and Zuko. But was he punishing her for what was not going on?

Because she could absolutely move on unaffected.

A/N:

Thanks for reading! And the chapter title is intended not to be spelled like the old saying, 'Home is where the heart is'. :)

Guess who gave up and finally got a deviantArt account? If you guessed pigeons, then you are terribly wrong! If you guessed SuperSonic Violet, then you are terribly right! Hmm, I'm not sure why I'm so hyped up about it. Probably 'cause I have this insanely hard password that takes five tries before I get it right, because I can fave those pretty pieces I like, and because I'm probably the last one on the entire planet to get an account! O.O I don't even think I'm gonna upload anything… Eh well. Now I can go on faving rampages, like the one I had last night that also helped in the delay of this update…

That is all. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. :D